FARMERS today threatened to ratchet up protests and unleash crippling food shortages unless Labour reverses its “devastating” farm tax.
James Melville, founder of No Farmers No Food, said workers are “at their wits end” over Rachel Reeve’s inheritance tax raid on land and tractors.
Farmers’ champion James Melville has warned mass protests could break out unless Labour reverses its “devastating” tractor tax
James told The Sun’s Harry Cole that thousands are at risk of losing their farm unless the inheritance tax raid is urgently abolished
A major protest against the move will take place in Westminster next Tuesday, with more than 5,000 furious families set to attend.
Cops this week imposed a ban on tractors at the event amid plans for a convoy to make its way into central London.
Mr Melville implored the Chancellor to scrap the 20 per cent tax on farms valued over £1m or face further wrath.
Some campaigners have already threatened withholding meat and veggies from supermarkets for a week as a possible last resort.
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The Farmer’s champion told Never Mind The Ballots: “We are going to gradually put the pressure on.
“The main thing at the moment is right across the industry and also politically, the Lib Dems, Reform, SNP and Tories are all saying the same thing and uniting with farmers.
“What people need to understand is the farmers do not want to do this, but they are their wit’s end because this potentially threatens the custodianship of many family farms.”
On Wednesday a cabinet row erupted after Ms Reeves rejected a bid by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to exempt some older farmers from the tax.
The Treasury insisted it won’t back down – even in the face of mass protests.
A DEFRA source told The Sun Environment Secretary Steve Reed is “fully behind” the Chancellor’s raids.
But other staff in the department have accused the Treasury of blindsiding them with the policy, saying they were only warned of it the night before the Budget.
A DEFRA spokesperson said: “With public services crumbling and a £22 billion fiscal hole inherited from the previous government, we have made the difficult decision to reform Agricultural Property Relief in a balanced and fair way.
“All Ministers support the policy and it will not change.”
Treasury officials insist the tax raid, set to raise £500m, will only hit a wealthy 7 per cent of farmers.
But the National Farmers’ Union dispute the figure and believe 70,000 people could be impacted.
The NFU warned it will “snatch away the next generation’s ability to carry on producing British food”.
Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith told Never Mind The Ballots he will “absolutely” be at Wednesday’s protest.
He said: “I will be meeting my farmers and they are rightly fully seized of the difficulties and the attack that we are seeing on farms.
“Once you bring these measures into inheritance, driven by prejudice of the Labour party against wealth, who knows where it will stop?”