Kemi Badenoch during a farm visit earlier this month (Image: PA)
Kemi Badenoch has made an impassioned vow to stop Labour from destroying the rural British way of life as she promised to reverse the hated farm tax. The Conservative Party leader insisted she will never stop fighting for farmers and their communities, who she says are “the lifeblood of this country”.
Writing exclusively in the Daily Express, Mrs Badenoch warns that Sir Keir Starmer’s “cruel” plan to hike inheritance tax on farms will crush families and destroy vital businesses. “The rural British way of life is something to be cherished, not to be squandered,” she says. Her remarks are a massive boost to the Daily Express's Save Britain’s Family Farms crusade, which demands a U-turn on the inheritance tax changes.
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Kemi Badenoch and Victoria Atkins are campaigning for British farmers (Image: PA)
Chancellor Rachel Reeves used her nightmare Budget last autumn to cap the Agricultural Property Relief at ￡1million, with anything over that being taxed at 20%.
The Government insists the majority of farms will be unaffected when the policy is introduced from April 2026.
In her biggest intervention yet on the issue, Mrs Badenoch says the proposed changes are based on “astounding arrogance” and will cripple many family farms.
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“They think that because land is expensive it means farmers are sitting on lots of cash in the bank,” she says.
“Far from it. Farming families do not have the cash to spare.”
She adds that many farmers who want to keep their land will be forced to sell it to pay the tax bill, meaning they would not have the land to farm.
“It’s completely crazy,” Mrs Badonoch says, warning that the end result is that farms will be “forced to sell and be replaced by solar panels driven by Ed Miliband’s net zero by 2050 zealotry or for unsuitable housing forced through by Angela Rayner”.
The Opposition leader also takes a swipe at the Prime Minister, who she describes as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” who “says one thing to get elected, then does another”.
“Labour promised to stand up for farmers when they wanted their votes, but as soon as they got in power, they let Whitehall bureaucrats convince them to tax family farms,” she said.
She says the Tories ignored this advice when they were in government because “we understand rural life and we respect it”.
“Labour doesn’t get it. To them, farmers are just numbers on a spreadsheet, not the backbone of Britain,” she says.
The MP for North West Essex has spent most of April criss-crossing the country rallying support ahead of Thursday’s local elections.
She visited Rookery Farm near Louth, Lincolnshire, on Monday, where she spoke to farmers about the impact of the policy.
Mrs Badenoch also courted celebrity last December when she met Jeremy Clarkson at his Oxfordshire pub to discuss the impact of Labour’s inheritance tax proposals.
Ms Reeves claims the tax will raise ￡520million a year, but experts predict it will be closer to ￡115million.
CBI Economics said 17% of family farms have already cut jobs or halted hiring and has warned that 200,000 jobs in family businesses and farms could be lost.
Tea > coffee always, preferably Earl Grey!
Chatting all things farming, productivity, and British produce with @JeremyClarkson who really gets what is at stake! pic.twitter.com/2mtYwPmet9
— Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) December 20, 2024
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In a heartfelt message to the British farming community, Mrs Badenoch warns that Labour’s rural assault risks “food security” and the “high-quality food standards we cherish so much”.
“I know how crucial farmers are to our way of life. I know the value of rural communities, and I will keep fighting for them," she says.
“The Conservative Party will always stand by those who are the lifeblood of this country. We will defend them, unapologetically and relentlessly, because we believe in Britain.
“We believe in the strength and resilience of our communities. And we will not let Labour destroy them.”
The Government is adamant that its policy will not change and that other reliefs may help reduce the amount owed.
A Labour source said: “Kemi’s comments are a desperate attempt to hide the fact they have no plan to fix the mess they left the country in after 14 years of mismanaging the finances.
“We delivered a Budget that wiped the slate clean, fixed the foundations and started the urgent work to rebuild our country whilst protecting working people’s payslips from higher taxes.
“With NHS waiting lists down, three interest rate cuts since the election, business confidence at an all-time high and living standards growing at their fastest quarterly rate in two years, Labour’s Plan for Change is delivering for working people."
It comes as a new report shows that boosting UK fruit and veg production to meet healthy eating guidelines could increase farm profits.
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A study by environmental think tank Green Alliance warned that intake of fruit and vegetables would need to increase by 86% for Britons to meet health advice to eat five portions a day. At the moment, just a third of people in the UK eat the recommended amount.
Helping the domestic horticulture industry expand in line with people eating the right amount of fruit and vegetables could add ￡2.3 billion to the economy, or more if the proportion of produce grown at home increased.
It could also support up to 23,520 additional jobs and boost farm incomes by 3% across the country, without threatening self-sufficiency in other foods, said the report.
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