The National Farmers Union has finally met with Treasury ministers James Murray and Daniel Zeichner today on the Farm Tax. As Labour told the papers before the event, it’s no U-turn…
A furious Tom Bradshaw told reporters at a press conference “We are really cross today.” He didn’t hold back:
“Today’s meeting has been – a disappointment doesn’t describe how I feel at the moment… there is no movement. The government resolutely believe that they are correct in the decisions that they have made and that they are generous in the exemptions they are giving us. They don’t care about the human impact, they don’t care about the intergenerational impact, they don’t care about the impact on tenant farmers and the geopolitical situation that the world faces today. Food security should be on the top of everybody’s agenda, this should matter for 70 million people living on this island – and they don’t care about food production and what this means for food production going forward.”
Bradshaw added that “the reaction from our members is going to be one of fury, one of real anger, one of desperation.” The NFU says it went to Treasury with a clawback solution crafted by tax fanatic Dan Neidle but that “door is closed.” Further spokespeople slammed Labour ministers for ignoring the rural economy – one farming industry representative added that it was “one of the most unproductive meetings I’ve ever had in my 28 years” in the industry. Did Murray and Zeichner organise the meeting just to mock farmers?
Speaking at his speech on how to achieve “progressive capitalism” Wes Streeting fired a dig and Andy Burnham:
“Bond markets are not bond villains and fiscal rules matter.”