FURIOUS farmers booed and heckled the Environment Secretary as he faced the music on Labour’s inheritance tax raid.
Steve Reed took a battering from the crowd at the National Farmers’ Union conference as he took questions on the family farm tax.
GettyEnvironment Secretary Steve Reed[/caption]
GettyProtesters hold banners as Steve Reed speaks on stage during the National Farmers Union Annual Conference at the QEII Centre[/caption]
GettyNFU President Tom Bradshaw[/caption]
The controversial policy, set to kick in from April 2026, has sparked outrage among the farming community, who fear it will force family-run farms out of business.
Mr Reed was met with muted applause and a hostile audience as he tried to sweeten the blow with a raft of policy pledges, including a five-year extension to seasonal worker visas and a £30m boost to higher-level stewardship schemes.
But his words did little to calm the fury in the room – with protesters holding up banners condemning the tax raid and NFU President Tom Bradshaw branding the move “cruel” and “morally wrong.”
In his key note speech, Mr Bradshaw also said older farmers “are now facing that very real dilemma that unless they die before April 2026, their families will face a family farm tax they simply cannot afford to pay.”
He added: “What a cruel position to put elderly people in by no way of warning, by way of a broken promise.
“Government, you must correct this urgently.”
Taking the stage afterwards, Mr Reed admitted he understood “the strength of feeling in the room” but refused to back down.
He also apologised, saying: “I’m sorry, it’s a decision that we have had to take.”
But later defended the move, claiming the Government had to deal with a financial “black hole” inherited from the Tories.
The tax hike has sparked furious protests in Westminster, with convoys of tractors descending on London in recent weeks.
During the Q&A session that followed his speech, Mr Reed was heckled and repeatedly challenged by farmers.
One bluntly asked if the best tax planning now was to die before the changes come in.
Mr Reed insisted Labour was committed to making farming more profitable and announced plans for a 25-year roadmap and food strategy.
But his responses were repeatedly drowned out by jeers and heckles.
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