UK Parliament / Open data

Untitled Proceeding contribution

Proceeding contribution from Robbie Moore (Conservative) in the House of Commons on Wednesday, 4 December 2024. It occurred during Opposition day on Farming and Inheritance Tax.

This morning, ordinary farming families across all four corners of our United Kingdom will be waking up to another day of hard graft. If it is anything like my upbringing, the kids will be out early helping their parents feed the livestock, dad might be milking the cows or perhaps out crop-walking with the agronomist, rightly concerned about the impact of recent wet weather, and mum will no doubt be battling the elements, keeping the whole operation running smoothly and somehow still finding time to make sure everyone has their wellies on the right feet.

Anyone with experience of rural life understands all too well the constant struggle of keeping a family farm afloat. It is tough work—long hours, barely any room to breathe and a financial struggle for many. As I have said many times in this House, our farming families are not multimillionaires; many will be striving to make a profit, but a lot of our families will not be, with many of our farmers earning less than the minimum wage. But today these farmers will also be waking up with the crushing reality that they now face losing everything they have ever worked for—everything that their mum or dad or the generations before them worked for—all because of this Labour Government’s disastrous farm tax.

I have spoken to hundreds of farmers in the days since the Budget, as have the shadow Secretary of State and many colleagues sat behind me, and we have learned that Labour’s catastrophic Budget really is an anxiety that very few farmers were ready for. We have heard about many of their concerns in the debate. My hon. Friend the Member for Weald of Kent (Katie Lam) spoke about those, such as Ross in her constituency, who may have ill health and other challenging circumstances, who do not have time to plan.

My right hon. Friend the Member for Braintree (Mr Cleverly) talked about farming accountants raising incredibly distressing calls from farmers. My hon. Friend the Member for Bridlington and The Wolds (Charlie Dewhirst) and my right hon. Friend the Member for Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge (Sir Gavin Williamson) raised the impact on the wider rural economy and the whole of the UK production sector. My hon. Friend the Member for North Cotswolds (Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown) and my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison) rightly mentioned the challenges the whole Budget will have on our farming, including the dire consequences of employer national insurance.

My hon. Friends the Member for Mid Norfolk (George Freeman) and for Broxbourne (Lewis Cocking) rightly highlighted the concerns of family farms that will have been in the family for many generations facing being split up. My hon. Friend the Member for Gordon and Buchan (Harriet Cross) and my right hon. Friend the Member for Salisbury (John Glen) rightly challenged the Government’s own data and figures and lack of understanding of values.

But the core issue is that this is all about trust. Before the general election, Labour looked our farmers in the eye and told them continually that there would be no changes to inheritance tax. Indeed, the hon. Member for High Peak (Jon Pearce) even at a hustings before the general election classified this as Conservative scaremongering, and many Labour MPs now sitting opposite proudly stood with placards saying they would back British farming. Yet here we are, 35 days after Labour introduced the family farm tax and 15 days after thousands of family farmers rallied in London, and there is not a shred of contrition from the Ministers sitting opposite—not even the slightest bit of empathy for those ordinary farming families who know the value of their businesses and who have looked at the detail and have been hit hard by Labour’s family farm tax—and that is because their level of arrogance is stark, as we have seen in this debate.

The hon. Members for Ribble Valley (Maya Ellis), for Peterborough (Andrew Pakes) and for Forest of Dean (Matt Bishop) could not even mention one farmer in their constituency who supported this policy. The hon. Member for North East Derbyshire (Louise Jones) seems to be convinced that this will impact only the wealthiest. The hon. Member for Hexham (Joe Morris), who I believe is not in his place, and the hon. Member for North Northumberland (David Smith) both say they have engaged with their farmers and heard their views, but then failed to mention anything in support of scrapping Labour’s disastrous family farm tax. No wonder their farmers are up in arms.

The hon. Member for Bassetlaw (Jo White) turned up but failed to mention anything about inheritance tax relief. And the hon. Member for Penrith and Solway (Markus Campbell-Savours) rightly highlighted Labour’s broken promises. I pay tribute to him for mentioning it, but will he have the courage to commit, to back our farmers and to vote with us for scrapping Labour’s family farm tax?

The hon. Member for Rugby (John Slinger) spoke, made no reference at all to inheritance tax, but did mention the Budget. I can tell him that after the Budget,

in one single week ending 8 November, 1,022 companies filed to shut down. I also point out that we saw 1.1 million more businesses between 2010 and 2023. The NFU, the CLA, the TFA and farming organisations up and down the UK say that Labour’s Budget will tear apart British farming, UK food production and our domestic food security agenda. The Central Association of Agricultural Valuers, whose members’ job it is to determine the value of farms, says that the Government have got their figures completely wrong. Those very same tax experts who the farming Minister rolled out in defence of this policy just a few weeks ago have now gone on to criticise it.

The Government are looking incredibly isolated. Public support for this policy has been wiped out since it was announced, leaving Labour MPs as its only defenders. Up to now, they have all failed to publicly call out our city-dwelling Prime Minister and Chancellor’s callous Budget. Now, we have even had the Exchequer Secretary, the hon. Member for Ealing North (James Murray) being wheeled out to open this debate, as the Government’s last remaining hope to try to defend this disastrous attack on our farming families. The Government have lost the experts, they have lost the industry and it now seems they have lost their own Secretary of State from the Front Bench—it is great to see that he has just walked into this debate and turned up—and it is weak and embarrassing.

Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
758 cc152-374 
Session
2024-25
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
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