Council has voted overwhelmingly to stage a campaign moment in London in February as part of its drive to halt the family farm tax, and also to support a planned rally proposed by a group of farmers in the capital in March.
The campaign moment would be the latest part of the NFU’s campaign and will be a strong emotional and visual way of highlighting the way Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s policy on inheritance tax on farms will snatch away the next generation’s chance to produce Britain’s food.
The activity will coincide with the annual NFU Conference, this year being held in London on 25 February.
We have always said we are in this for the long haul, and today’s update continues to build on the progress the campaign has made so far.
We have surpassed huge milestones in the past week alone:
- all of the UK’s major retailers publicly backing the campaign
- a new report from the OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) casting doubt on the Treasury’s figures
- the Efra Committee chair Alistair Carmichael writing to the PM with a mountain of evidence raising concerns
- a Day of Unity which saw farmers from all corners of the country stage events with massive public backing
- a 270,000-strong petition handed to No.10.
And even today, the AHDB has released new independent analysis, reinforcing the NFU’s own figures about the number of farms set to be affected.
Rest assured, we are making progress.
See our timeline of our lobbying work so far.
NFU comms support
NFU Council also agreed, overwhelmingly, that the organisation should support a proposed rally in London in March, if it goes ahead, encouraging members to attend and helping organisers of that event by using the NFU’s communications power to publicise the event on their behalf.
We will continue to demonstrate, as we did during the Day of Unity and the mass lobby, that when farming speaks with a united voice, it's deafening.
More details on these actions and events will follow.
