The huge u-turn by the Labour Government may be presented as an early Christmas present, but trust will be hard to earn back, writes Christian Calgie.
Labour won’t be forgiven (Image: Getty)
The government’s surprise climbdown over farmers’ inheritance tax today will be presented as an early Christmas present by Sir Keir Starmer. The move by DEFRA, hiking the farm value threshold from £1 million to £2.5 million, will no doubt bring huge relief to the countryside’s hardest workers.
As farmers have repeatedly told the government since Rachel Reeves first announced the heartless tax grab in 2024, farming is not a job, it’s a way of life. The Family Farms Tax, as originally proposed by the Chancellor, would have decimated families, communities and indeed the whole country’s food security. It now seems the country will be able to enjoy a truly peaceful Christmas, partly thanks to farmers no longer needing to blare their tractor horns down Whitehall.
Farmers were never going to take the news lying down (Image: Getty)
But when the festivities conclude and the dust settles, Labour must truly realise the game is up for them across swathes of rural Britain.
While the climbdown is welcome, for farmers and those living alongside them in towns and villages up and down the country, Labour will not be forgiven.
There are 114 Labour MPs representing rural areas, and over the past months of protesting, rebellion and outrage, only a small handful were ever brave enough to stick their heads above the parapet.
And just six days ago, the government actually sacked one of its bravest backbenchers, Markus Campbell-Savours, for daring to vote against their Family Farms Tax.
Just a week later, Mr Campbell-Savours’s disciplinary appears shortsighted and vindictive, two adjectives this government has repeatedly shown itself to be.
Unfortunately for these rural Labour MPs, their party is led by those who do not only find the countryside a baffling place – completely lacking in Pret a Mangers and Ubers – who but actively hold non-metropolitan areas in contempt.
What’s most astonishing about the entire farming tax saga is that even Tony Blair, the last truly all-powerful Prime Minister, was proof that Labour should not believe it can take on the countryside and win.
While Sir Tony’s battle with the fox hunters was ultimately successful, he burned through an enormous amount of political capital.
Keir Starmer never had that capital, and has once again been forced to perform a humiliating u-turn.
Today’s climbdown joins a litany of u-turns from the past 18 months, each one demonstrating political failure in every part of government, from the Prime Minister and his advisers, to ministers and civil servants.
Winter Fuel Payments, PIP cuts, the national inquiry into grooming gangs, workers’ rights, WASPI women, the two-child benefit cap. Each one a damning indictment of this government’s lack of political aptitude.
But while all the above may have dented the government’s popularity, in many rural communities the attack on farmers killed any hope of retaining their votes and constituencies.
The U-turn is welcome, but Keir Starmer should not breathe any sigh of relief when tucking into Britain’s tastiest farming produce this Christmas.
