Brits accuse Keir Starmer of neglecting rural communities | Politics | News
After a year of debate over taxing farmers and banning trail hunting, a new poll says Britons don’t care about Labor’s rural communities. Two-thirds of voters believe Sir Keir Starmer’s government is neglecting rural people, while three-quarters say Labor is prioritizing urban rather than rural issues.
The findings were published hours before hundreds of thousands of Britons are set to take part in what may be their last Boxing Day hunt, after the government announced plans to ban trail hunting in its latest war on rural life. The same poll, commissioned by the Countryside Alliance, found that not a single one of the 2,000 voters asked said a ban on trail hunting should be prioritized by the government. Tim Bonner, the alliance’s chief executive, said it was evidence Keir Starmer had “alienated rural people” during his first 18 months in power.
Mr Bonner warned: “His skewed priorities have put taxing family farms, raising rates for rural businesses and banning trail hunting ahead of policies that would benefit rural people.
“While partial changes to the family farm tax are a step in the right direction, the government desperately needs to learn the key lesson from this policy debacle – it needs to work with the rural community, not legislate against it. The government has a long way to go to rebuild trust.”
Farmer Gareth Wyn Jones added: “There is a real feeling that the government does not understand the countryside and is targeting us to create a culture war.
“It has taken more than a year for Keir Starmer to reluctantly admit that the government’s farming inheritance tax proposals are a disaster, but he is unlikely to calm the anger as more damaging rural policy emerges.”
The findings come as official statistics reveal that Rachel Reeves’ Family Farms Tax is already wreaking havoc on the countryside, leading to the biggest ever closure of farms since records began.
More than 6,200 farming businesses closed in the 12 months to October in response to the Chancellor announcing plans to introduce Inheritance Tax on farms.
While the government finally backed down this week and announced that the planned IHT threshold would be increased from £1 million to £2.5 million, agricultural experts warned that irreversible damage had already been done.
David Exwood, deputy chairman of the National Farmers Union, said: “The large number of farm business closures we have seen over the past year underscore the challenges and lack of trust in the sector.
“Cash flow pressures, extreme weather, global volatility, family farm tax and uncertainty about environmental plans have made it difficult for farmers and growers to produce the nation’s food and be profitable doing so.”
On Tuesday, the son of a farmer who took his own life in response to Rachel Reeves’ tax grab said the changes were “the best Christmas present”.
John Charlesworth, 78, whose middle name was Philip, was found dead by his son in a barn on their farm in Silkstone, Barnsley, on October 29 last year.
Rachel Reeves “became increasingly concerned about inheritance tax and its effects on the farm” in the months before her Budget, an inquest at Sheffield Coroner’s Court heard.
His son, Jonathan Charlesworth, told the inquest he believed his father wanted to “pass” the Government’s proposals and “save the farm for future generations”.
“Pressure from the industry is paying off,” he said, adding: “This is a step in the right direction – more farms will sleep better this Christmas without the threat of inheritance tax looming over them.
“However, there will be many large family farms who will have to plan for potential inheritance tax costs and it would be helpful to provide more windows for them to do this.
“This will not bring back the lives lost over the last year because of the anxiety it has created, but it is a welcome U-turn that will hopefully prevent a flood of suicides by the start in April.
“Industry pressure has paid off – this will be the best Christmas present for many farmers.”
