Shadow Defra Secretary backs our 'Save Our Farms' campaign

Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Victoria Atkins has backed our campaign to have Inheritance Tax reversed

On behalf of Cumbria's farmers, we are asking the Government to think again, to, at the very least, increase the threshold from which the tax would have to be paid. 

Cumberland News campaign Back Our Farmers (Image: Newsquest)

Writing exclusively for Cumberland News, The Conservative MP said: "Farming is in the blood of so many communities across the whole of Cumbria.

"From Ulverston in South Lakeland to Carlisle on the Scottish border, farming is a core part of the economy in the region, a region characterised by the many upland farms dotted around the vast mountainous landscape, where the native Herdwick sheep, the guardians of the fells, have been reared for generations. 

"The Conservative Party understands this – and the responsibilities of farming families in their stewardship of the countryside.

"Labour whose Family Farm Tax is a huge threat to farmers in counties such as Cumbria, where upland farms, commandeering vast rugged landscapes, have been passed down from generation to generation.

"As the proud MP of an agricultural seat in Lincolnshire for nearly a decade, I have never known an issue that has united rural communities like this.

"Keir Starmer pledged that Labour would look after farmers. Steve Reed, the Defra Secretary, promised before the election that Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) would not be changed.

"They have broken their promises and distressed farmers by introducing this unfair tax. It will devastate family farms in places such as Penrith and Kendal, put at risk British food security and increase food prices and contribute to higher inflation.

"Labour have made a political choice to target family farms and because they don’t understand businesses the impact of their Family Farm Tax, the National Insurance hike and other taxes will be felt, not just by the farmers they betrayed, but by families across the country paying higher food prices. 

"Of course, abuse of the tax system must be tackled, but those British families who are asset-rich and cash-poor are the ones that Labour is targeting.

"The wealthiest landowners will be able to afford lawyers to litigate and plan their way out of Labour’s tax raid. The ones who will struggle are tenant farmers and those in the middle.

"This is why the Conservatives have promised to reverse the Family Farm Tax when in government.

"Once these family farms are gone, they are gone – and we will feel the consequences a long time after this Labour Government is removed from office. Our countryside and our villages, hamlets, market towns and farms deserve better."

We would also ask our readers to back our farmers by lobbying MPs and encourage them to take a stand against the crippling measures announced in the Budget.

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