Contingency measures in place if farmer protests intensify, minister confirms – Politics.co.uk

Dame Diana was again drawn on contingency measures when speaking to LBC later on Tuesday morning. She said: “In terms of national security, there are always plans that have been developed and are ready to go if needed. 

“But I’m not going to get into that, because it’s a matter of national security, but I’m confident that those measures are out there.”

She added: “[Such contingency measures] are worked on constantly. National Security is obviously one of the most important things that any government has to be prepared for, and those contingency measures, if needed, are there. Please rest assured that the government are clear on that.”

Labour announced in the budget that there would be a 20 per cent inheritance tax on farms worth more than £1 million, a measure the president of the National Farmers Union (NFU) has described as “horrific” and a “betrayal”.

The NFU says the environment secretary, Steve Reed, promised that a Labour government would not make changes to the tax prior to the general election.

As many as 15,000 people are registered to attend a rally at Richmond Terrace, near Downing Street, to protest the reforms. Separately, the NFU has 1,800 members registered to lobby their local MPs in person in Westminster at 9 am.

Speaking on Tuesday morning, Tom Bradshaw, the NFU president, said the farming industry has been “betrayed” by the Labour government.

Bradshaw reiterated that Reed promised farmers a year ago that this inheritance tax hike would not happen.

“He stood here a year ago at a conference in London, and said that the government would not be changing agricultural property relief”, he told Sky News.

“[Reed] then reinforced that a couple of weeks later. This industry has been betrayed. They said they wouldn’t make this change, then suddenly they’ve gone ahead and done it.”

Bradshaw added: “Our members are asset rich but cash poor, they are working day in, day out, they are the hard working people of the countryside producing this country’s food.

“They’re not making the returns they need. We would love to pay more tax, if we get proper margins from food production and we end up swelling the Treasury coffers — bring it on.

“But at the moment the supply chain doesn’t give us those returns.”

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Bradshaw met Reed for talks in Westminster on Monday and said that after “tough conversations” the demonstration would “definitely” go ahead.

Commenting after the meeting, Bradshaw said: “It was a valuable meeting. It was a great opportunity to really spell out in black and white why their evidence is wrong, why it has to come forwards in consultation, and what the extreme human pressure is that this policy has created.”

But, with farmers travelling to Westminster, Dame Diana Johnson defended the changes to inheritance tax.

Asked if she wanted to apologise to farmers, the policing minister told Times Radio: “I fully understand the strength of feeling that the farming community have and, of course, they have the right to come and protest and lobby Parliament, as we’re seeing happening already this morning.

“But the Labour government, when it came in in July, was having to face some very difficult decisions because of the economic mess that we inherited and the £22bn black hole in the public finances.

“So, difficult decisions have had to be made. So, I think that that is the backdrop to this.

“I also want to recognise that there is money going into farming. There’s over £5bn over the next two years that the Government is putting into farming and the number of farms that will be affected by the changes are relatively small.”

Josh Self is Editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on Bluesky here.

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