Fenland farmers join national protest against Government’s farm inheritance tax policy

Chatteris farmer Nick Allpress was one of many in London for the farm protest against what he described as the Government’s "vindictive and ideological" budget.

Mr Allpress joined with other local farmers as well as those from across the country yesterday on College Green outside the Houses of Parliament for the farming community’s protest against Labour’s decision to introduce inheritance tax on farms worth over £1million.

Local MP Steve Barclay joined the Fenland contingency.

Speaking on a video posted by the North East Cambridgeshire MP on his Facebook page Mr Allpress said it was not just about the inheritance tax issue.

But also about other cost increases that have hit farmers including the rise in the minimum wage.

He said these extra costs would cost his farm £500,000 a year, which he said was a huge amount for the farm to absorb and would obviously have implications including an increase in food prices, which in turn would lead to higher inflation.

“It is not good for anyone,” he said.

He urged the Government to talk to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to get the facts and figures and described the recent Government budget as “vindictive and ideological”.

Mr Barclay said there was a huge turnout of MPs in support of the farmers and accused Labour prioritising cities over rural communities.

He said the budget will cause food prices to rise which is bad news for shoppers across Fenland.

He added: “Many in the rural community feel a deep sense of anger towards the policy proposals from the Labour Government, especially since these were introduced just four months after they strongly denied any intention to do so during the election.

“The Labour Party just doesn’t understand farming or the rural economy. We risk losing decades of expert knowledge, with the impact of the current proposals having a chilling effect on farm investment which impacts wider rural businesses.

“Labour's Family Farm Tax will force many families to sell their farms, which will undermine our food security at a time of increased global uncertainty.”