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Sir Keir Starmer may be softening his stance on changes to inheritance tax, according to the boss of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU).
After a meeting in No 10 with the prime minister on Monday, NFU president Tom Bradshaw claimed there was “a more conciliatory tone” regarding the controversial change which some have dubbed a “tractor tax”.
Mr Bradshaw added: “We are trying to give it a bit of room to breathe. He hasn’t guaranteed me anything but I think there is a general softening of lines and I don’t want to stoke the fire.”
In a video update to NFU members, he said: “I had a great opportunity to be invited into 10 Downing Street by the prime minister. We’ve been able to present outside of the discussion around what the changes… are going to mean for you, your family and your future.
“The prime minister is very much in listening mode, and I hope that he’s able to act on what he’s heard this afternoon.”
Mr Bradshaw said: “We will continue to fight this, I want to work with the government but they are making it incredibly difficult.”
His comments followed the news that at least 100 fed-up farmers are set to take to their tractors in a go-slow protest targeting Dover to show their frustration with the Labour government.
It comes days after Labour peer Baroness Mallalieu, who is president of the Countryside Alliance and joined farmers on a march against the tax changes, now warned her government that it is losing the trust of rural communities.
The changes, announced by Rachel Reeves last month, will mean farms valued at £1m or more will be liable for 20 per cent inheritance tax.
The Treasury says with tax allowances, in reality only farms worth £3m will be hit – or around 500 each year. But the NFU believes around three in four family farms will be affected by the tax change, putting already wafer-thin profit margins under further strain and even forcing some to sell up to pay inheritance tax bills.
Sir Keir Starmer insisted his government supported farmers but indicated on Friday that he would not be u-turning on the policy, and warned the money is needed to fund public services.
The prime minister told BBC Bristol: “We’re for working people who need to be better off, who’ve really struggled over recent years.
“We’re for everybody who wants to and needs to rely on the NHS, which is on its knees, and we’ve got to pick it up and we will and get those waiting lists down.”
He has previously said the “vast majority of farms and farmers” will be unaffected by the changes announced in the Budget.
But last week an estimated 13,000 people marched on Westminster to protest the levy, dubbing the PM “Keir Starmer farmer harmer”.
The protest saw TV personality Jeremy Clarkson urge the government to back down over the policy, saying it is a “hammer blow to the back of the head” for the agricultural industry.
He begged the government to “accept this was rushed through, wasn’t thought out, and was a mistake”.
Meanwhile, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch promised to reverse the policy if her party wins the next election, describing it as “cruel and wrong”.
A government spokesman said: “We remain committed to fully implementing the policy and are not considering mitigations.”
