Welcome everybody.
On behalf of all the UK farming union presidents, who join me here today, thank you for making the effort to be here and join the fight. I know many of you have come a long way.
You don’t need me to tell you farmers and growers have put up with a hell of a lot, but it takes something extraordinary to get us to react like this and this betrayal on APR and BPR is extraordinary, and it affects farmers from every corner of Britain, many of whom are joining us today.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen the industry this angry, this disillusioned and this upset. And given what we’ve had to be angry about in recent times that’s saying something.
Together, our focus today with MPs is on Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief – this shocking policy built on bad data and launched with no consultation with anybody that understands. Not even Defra.
To launch a policy this destructive without speaking to anyone involved in farming beggars belief.
‘Nothing short of a stab in the back’
Let us remember that they promised, nearly a year ago, they wouldn’t be changing Agricultural Property Relief.
It’s not only been bungled in delivery, it’s also nothing short of a stab in the back.
But we in this room also know that it’s not just about APR and BPR, but that is the straw which broke the camel’s back.
After years of changing policy and 18 months of some of the worst weather on record, the Budget has been a kick in the teeth.
It is full of let-downs for our vital sector; accelerated BPS reductions, double cab pick-up taxes, new taxes on fertilisers.
The list goes on.
The massive inflationary pressure for the whole supply chain, but in particular the horticultural sector that produces fresh produce is simply unimaginable.
The impact on shelf prices is going to have to be dramatic. It’s an inflationary Budget for food production, and you in this room have nothing left to give.
It’s been nothing but a bad Budget and I’ve never seen anything like this in my lifetime.
The human impact
Rest assured the NFU, and the other farming unions, are fighting all of these policies. But today we focus on Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief with our MPs.
We know what this means for our families, for our children, for our future. We know the horrendous pressure it is putting on the older generation of farmers who have given everything to providing the food for this country.
We know that any tax revenue will be taken from our children and raised from those that die in tragic circumstances or within the next seven years.
The human impact of this policy is simply not acceptable. It’s wrong.
“We in this room also know that it’s not just about APR and BPR, but that is the straw which broke the camel’s back.”
NFU President Tom Bradshaw
It’s wrong on every level and, just as bad, it won’t achieve what the Treasury has set out to achieve.
When I sat down with James Murray, the Treasury Minister, I looked him in the eyes and I said ‘Just tell me what the exam question was’.
‘If you can tell me the question I can help you find an answer.’
He couldn’t even tell me what the question is.
Farmers caught in the eye of the storm
Far from catching wealthy homeowners with a bit of land, the Treasury’s mangling of the data means those people will generally not be impacted.
With the changes they’ve made to pensions, suddenly it’s going to incentivise people to take money out of pensions and invest in £1 million worth of land.
But it’s the farms that are producing this country’s food that are absolutely caught in the eye of the storm.
Our estimation is that 75% of commercial farm businesses are caught in the eye of this storm.
The irony is that this asset wealth will never become actual wealth, unless our farms are broken up. We all know tragic examples where there are people who won’t live the next seven years, and the only route through this is going to be to sell off the asset.
It’s kicking the legs out from under Britain’s food security. In the manifesto food security is national security, this policy delivers the complete opposite.
Political price of this policy
The sight of Ministers thrashing about, trying to justify the unjustifiable is not an edifying one.
First they said this policy would protect ‘the majority of farms’. When they couldn’t hold that line they changed to saying they were protecting ‘small family farms’. And when that fell apart, only last night, they switched to suggesting this mess of a policy would make ‘the most valuable farms pay.
That is not a policy built on strong foundations.
This is sorry stuff. It’s also what happens when you launch a policy without consulting anyone who knows anything about it. Farmers, and the public, deserve better.
But we know we’re not alone. We know that the campaign your unions are running has got the public support. Just last night, we went over 200,000 people with our campaign that the public is supporting.
We know the public are overwhelmingly supporting farmers. The second most trusted profession. They want to buy more British products, but this policy undermines your ability to produce more British food.
You’ll meet members of the public today that are here to support you and your families. Please make sure you tell them how much their support means to this industry.
But your key job today is to look your own MPs in the eye and make them understand what this policy means to you and the price that they will pay politically if they toe the party line.
In Westminster, in Cardiff, in Edinburgh and in Belfast, this policy has to be changed.
“We know that farmers may get tired, but as every one of you in this room knows, none of us are going to give up.”
NFU President Tom Bradshaw
Our request is very simple – this is a policy that will rip the heart out of of Britain’s family farms, launched on bad data with no consultation and it must be halted and considered properly.
They have to remove the human impact of this policy immediately.
Tell your story
Tell MPs your stories, from the heart, tell them what it means to you. Tell them how this impacts you, your farm, your family and your future.
As you’d expect, a huge amount of effort has gone into today. It’s a great opportunity for our industry to show off the very best of the countryside coming to the city.
We’ll continue the effort. I was with Steve Reed again last night, I’ve been with James Murray from the Treasury twice and had various meetings with Daniel Zeichner.
That engagement has to go on but they need to hear your stories. Any of you that are willing to tell your story to the press, it’ll be really impactful – please do that.
It may be that ministers think today is ‘it’, but we all know that we won’t get tired and that they can’t just wait this out.
We know that farmers may get tired, but as every one of you in this room knows, none of us are going to give up. We won’t give up. We won’t stop fighting this at a national level, or a local level. In every constituency, we will take the fight to our MPs.
And, if they don’t realise that, they don’t know the sense of betrayal there is in this farming industry today and what this Budget has meant for you.
A united industry
Good luck today. Thank you so much for coming to support us. I know this is such a heartfelt story, it’s an opportunity for you to connect with your MPs.
But if it doesn’t work today there will be further opportunities. We need to be a united industry with a united voice, telling what this means for you.
Later on in Whitehall, there’ll be a rally taking place. Please go and join the rally – this is the opportunity for the industry to stand on a united front. To show to the Chancellor, to show to the Prime Minister, that this is not going away.
So thank you very much for all the support you’ve given us so far. But this is only the start, and we need you for the days, weeks, and months to come.
Thank you.
