Ex-Tony Blair aide sparks backlash after ‘disgraceful’ comments about farmers
Emily Price
A former senior Labour advisor has been branded as “disgraceful” after saying farmers should be treated the same way that Margaret Thatcher treated miners.
Tony Blair’s former political secretary John McTernan sparked a backlash on Monday night (November 11) after he told a journalist he thought the UK “could do without” small farms.
He made the comments during a televised interview with GB News about Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ inheritance tax hike.
It could see small family farms pay up to 159% of their profits in inheritance tax following changes at the Budget.
McTernan has an extensive career in government and has advised prime ministers around the world.
He was also a special adviser to two Cabinet Ministers in Gordon Brown’s government and was director of communications for the Australian prime minister, Julia Gillard.
Disgraceful statement from former Labour political advisor John McTernan:
“We can do to the farmers what Thatcher did to the miners. It’s an industry we could do without. We don’t need small farmers.” pic.twitter.com/2MLr46l6GO
— No Farmers, No Food (@NoFarmsNoFoods) November 12, 2024
‘Heavy handed’
In a bizarre interview with Patrick Christys, he said: “Personally I’m in favour in doing to farmers who go out onto the streets what Margaret Thatcher did to the miners.”
A shocked Christys asked: “Just to be clear John – you would what? Beat them up?”
The former aide responded: “No of course not – but this is an industry we could do without.”
Christys said the interview had “got weird” before asking: “So you would do to farmers what Margaret Thatcher did to miners, which was she used very heavy handed police tactics followed by what? Putting them out of business?”
McTernan replied: “If people are so upset that they want to go out on the streets and spray slurry on them, then we don’t need small farmers.”
Strike
In the 1980’s, Thatcher was locked into a bitter dispute with thousands of miners and their trade union following plans by her Conservative government to shut 20 coal pits.
187,000 miners went on strike across the country with police officers drafted in to manage picket lines.
Violence broke out at times and the miners’ eventual defeat led to a wave of pit closures and thousands of job loses.
Leader of the Senedd Tory group Andrew RT Davies branded the comments “disgraceful” and indicative of how “many people in the Labour Party” feel.
He said: “It’s clear that for many on the left, the anti-farmer agenda is a new frontier in the class war, whereby farmers are being punished for not sharing the metropolitan worldviews of those in London and other cities.
“I will always stand with our farmers, because like most people in Britain, I know that no farmers means no food.”
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That explains the labour attitude to farmers. He fails to address food security.
Because the Conservatives would never say anything like that, right? https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8060473/Britain-doesnt-need-farmers-reveal-leaked-emails-senior-government-official.html
Are you actually the Dr Tim Leunig who is quoted extensively in the Daily Mail article, or have you adopted his name to cause confusion? It would be helpful to have clarity on that.
The poll in the article took place in 2017. With all that has happened over the last seven years I would be surprised if that support for Brexit in the farming community still exists.
He’s new Labour -say no more
There seems to be a flurry of ex Blair ministers and advisors popping up recently with advice, I wonder who is really pulling Starmers strings.
My hunch is that Blair’s ability to serially win elections is never out of Starmer’s mind. Among Labour prime ministers, only Wilson comes close in that respect, and even he didn’t manage a wholly unbroken stint in office.
They have absolutely no-hope of getting elected EVER again…
I’d love to think you are right but some in Wales will tick their ballot for them no matter what.
Until you find out that any future Conservative / Brexit party / Reform UK are even worse.
The UK has nothing to offer Wales.
We must plan our own future as an independent country.
I’m inclined to agree. I don’t think that the union now has much to offer to Wales and ‘Britannia’ seems to be on the slide.
However a wholly autonomous Wales is in my view likely to be a pretty hard ride too, at least initially. The early history of the Irish Republic might be to some degree a useful guide.
‘They have absolutely no-hope of getting elected EVER again…’ Agree – that’s how it looks to me too, right now, at least as far as the next Westminster election’s concerned. For sure, Labour played a very canny hand in the lead-up to this year’s general election; but their performance since they came into government has been curiously inept. On the other hand there’s four and a half years before the next Westminster election has to take place, and the electorate’s memory tends to be short. If Labour’s up to it, they’ve ample time to redeem and reinvent themselves. One thing… Read more »
Of course farmers used to be a Protected Species under the European Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017, but as we know they voted for Brexit en-masse, so now they’re in the same boat as the rest of the nation’s wildlife (except for pheasants, naturally). 🙂
Farmers did not vote for Brexit. Quite the opposite. They opposed it!!
Extrordinary. Where to start? Maybe here, with Farmers Weekly? Farmer support for Brexit as strong as ever, FW poll reveals – Farmers Weekly
Farmers Weekly is an English publication.
We are Cymru.
Is he in government?
No?
Well then. Starmer has disowned it.
We had artd part of the team that pulled off the massive harm of brexit on uk farming (and UK in general) but not a a peep and he is a law maker in post.
Law maker ? You elevate ARTD to a level to which he can only aspire. He ain’t made it yet.
He is in the Senedd, they have limited law making powers. He is part of that machine (though barley cognisant of his position). Making his status quite a bit higher than the momentum member (ex? or still in it?)
As far as I can recall he has never been part of law making just a loud barker from the opposition ranks.
Shocking comments from someone who claims to be Scottish, considering the Highland Clearances forced many Scottish croft farmers forced out of their own country to avoid starvation.
This must be a common delusional trait of McTernan and his type, who’ve never done an honest days work and relied on a lifetime of non jobs to put food on their table.
Typical Labour member…
Has never ever had a proper job except being a political advisor…
And this is meant to be the party of working people? Don’t make me laugh, they despise the very people who vote for them and who imagine that this shower presently in government somehow represent them. If anyone does indeed end up covered in slurry I hope that this imbecile is first in the firing line.
He said it on camera but this very much chimes with Labour’s overall thinking at present. Afforestation is the objective, with those farms that will not be planting trees being lined up for windfarm development, rewilding, or pylon laying. This is a major shift away from our traditional agricultural sectors and land usage towards a corporate-driven policy that is reflected in Miliband’s and Huw Irranca’s “we are the world leaders in fighting climate change” narrative. Make no mistake this will transform Wales for the worse and will instigate massive socio-cultural and linguistic disruption.
This is a puppet government run by minds un-elected from backgrounds we can only guess at…
If true, he is a very silly boy!