Britons say Labour does not care about rural communities, a damning new poll has found, after a year of rows about taxing farmers and banning trail hunting. Two-thirds of voters believe Sir Keir Starmer’s government neglects rural people, while three-quarters say Labour prioritise urban issues over rural concerns.
The findings were published hours before hundreds of thousands of Britons turn out for what may be the last ever Boxing Day hunts, after the government said it intents to ban trail hunting in their latest war on countryside life. The same poll, commissioned by the Countryside Alliance, found that not a single one of the 2,000 voters asked said banning trail hunting should be prioritised by the government. Tim Bonner, chief executive of the alliance, said it is proof that Keir Starmer has “alienated rural people” during his first 18 months in power.
Mr Bonner warned: “Its warped priorities have put taxing family farms, raising rates for rural businesses and banning trail hunting above policies that would benefit rural people.
“While the partial changes to the family farm tax are a step in the right direction, the government must desperately learn the fundamental lesson of this policy debacle, which is that it needs to work with the rural community – not legislate against it. The government has a very long way to go to rebuild trust”.
Farmer Gareth Wyn Jones added: “There’s a real feeling the government just doesn’t understand the countryside and that they are targeting us to create a culture war.
“It has taken Keir Starmer over a year to reluctantly accept the government’s farming inheritance tax proposals are a disaster, but with more damaging rural policy coming down the line, it’s unlikely to quell the anger.”
The findings came as official statistics revealed that Rachel Reeves’ Family Farms Tax has already wrought havoc on the countryside, sparking the largest ever closure of farms since records began.
In the 12 months to October, more than 6,200 farming businesses closed in response to the Chancellor announcing plans to levy crippling Inheritance Tax on farms.
While the Government finally u-turned this week and announced that the planned IHT threshold would be raised from £1 million to £2.5 million, agricultural experts warned that irreversible damage has already been done.
David Exwood, deputy president of the National Farmers Union said: “The high number of farm business closures we have seen over the past year underscores the challenges and lack of confidence within the sector.
“The cashflow pressures, extreme weather, global volatility, the family farm tax and uncertainty over environmental schemes have all made it harder for farmers and growers to produce the nation’s food and be profitable while doing it.”
On Tuesday the son of a farmer who took his own life in response to Rachel Reeves’s tax grab said the changes are the “best Christmas present”.
John Charlesworth, 78, who went by his middle name Philip, was found dead by his son in a barn on their farm in Silkstone, Barnsley, on October 29 last year.
An inquest at Sheffield Coroner’s Court heard that in the months before Rachel Reeves’s Budget, he had been “growing more and more anxious about inheritance tax and the implications for the farm”.
His son Jonathan Charlesworth told the inquest he believed his father wanted to “beat” the Government’s proposals and “save the farm for future generations”.
He said that “pressure from the industry has paid off”, adding: “It is a step in the right direction – more farms will sleep better this Christmas without the threat of inheritance tax looming over them.
“There will, however, be plenty of larger family farms that will have to plan for potential inheritance tax costs and a further window for them to do this would be beneficial.
“It’s a welcome U-turn that won’t bring back the lives lost over the last year or so due to the anxiety caused, but will hopefully prevent a flood of suicides running up to the commencement in April.
“Pressure from the industry has paid off – this will be the best Christmas present for a lot of farmers.”
