People face choice between NHS or farmers’ tax breaks, says PM after protest
Sir Keir Starmer claimed voters faced a choice between extra cash for the NHS and stability in the public finances or an inheritance tax break for farmers after a tractor protest disrupted a prime ministerial visit.
The Prime Minister visited a housing development at Milton Keynes as he set out his plans for the next generation of new towns.
But shortly after he began speaking to workers on the site, the ear-splitting sound of musical tractor horns filled the air.
Around a dozen vehicles, gathered on the road outside the site, were shielded from the Prime Minister’s view by a line of trees, but the noise they made was impossible to ignore.
Budget
It is the latest in a series of protests staged by farmers in response to the Budget’s changes to agricultural and business inheritance tax relief, which will leave some estates liable for death duties.
The Prime Minister postponed planned media interviews when the visit was cut short on security grounds due to concerns about the protest.
Speaking to broadcasters after returning to London, Sir Keir said: “Yes there was a protest there, and to some extent that draws out quite an important discussion that we have to have as a country.”
Rachel Reeves’ first Budget had to stabilise the UK’s finances he insisted, which included “tough but right decisions” on national insurance contributions for businesses and ending the inheritance tax break for farmers.
Sir Keir said: “These are political choices, but what you can’t have is interest rates coming down, the growth we need in the economy, your waiting lists coming down, and maintain the tax break for farmers.
“People watching this will understand that that is a choice. They will know what they would prefer.
“Do they want their waiting lists to come down, do they want their mortgages to come down, the economy to start working for everyone? That is what we are trying to achieve.
“Or do we want to give tax breaks for farmers? We can’t have both.”
England waiting lists
The Prime Minister’s comments came as the latest NHS England figures showed waiting lists dropped for the fourth consecutive month to their lowest figure since April 2023.
An estimated 7.46 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of December in England, relating to 6.24 million patients – down from 7.48 million treatments and 6.28 million patients at the end of November.
But a record number of people in England waited more than 12 hours after being admitted to A&E before receiving care last month.
Farmer Richard Miles, who travelled from Welford, Northamptonshire, to take part in the protest, told the PA news agency: “We are not being listened to at all, that’s why we feel we have to come and see him in person.”
As the Range Rover carrying the Prime Minister left the site, farmers could be heard shouting “just talk to us” as the car drove slowly through the crowd, accompanied by a tractor-horn version of Darude’s dance classic Sandstorm.
A Thames Valley Police spokesman said: “Thames Valley Police facilitated a peaceful protest off the A509 and liaised with the protesters at the scene.
“Officers from the local policing team engaged with the protesters.
“No arrests were made or necessary.”
Support our Nation today
For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.
Reading that one of the groups behind this protest need a bit of digging into. Never forget the far right will winkle themselves into anything today.
Personally, I agree with the IHT changes. I haven’t seen any alternative plan put by the NFU to stop the wealthy tax dodgers (clarkson etc) who this targets.
But it is also wrong to expect this is going have a significant impact upon public service delivery across the whole of the UK. The government‘s own sums said it would only affect 500 farms per year!
..and Starmer as ever being very selective made no mention of the tax evasion/avoidance/mitigation schemes and scams that his regime ( and previous Tory lot) are conspicuously ignoring.
Spending priorities have been corrupted by vanity projects (HS2 etc) and uncontrolled defence spending where money is spent on huge overpriced and underperforming projects. The list is never ending but the costs always comes back for the ordinary hard pressed tax payer who pays his/her due on time while the shysters and wideboys with so called professional advisors get away with blatant underpayment or none at all.
Clark and his mentor really must be totally bereft of ideas and imagination and totally reliant of the lack of reasoning powers of the population to think that they would accept this BS…
As if the tiny amount of money raised from the farmers will save the NHS idps complete nonsense.
Read the 10 major proposals of Karl Marks.
Collective farming failed and famin but don’t let that get in the way of their stupid ideology.
Oh dear, of Dyson
I remember several years ago when I called in at our local farm to buy our regular sack of potatoes he said that he didn’t have any. A puff of wind blew a tarpaulin at the entrance to the barn and I could see it was stacked to the roof with spuds. I didn’t say anything. I later learned that Germany’s potato crop had failed and our friendly farmers were selling their spuds to them at highly inflated prices. Since then I have not been back to my local farm but he goes out of his way to wave and… Read more »
Looks like today they’ve programmed the Starmerbot with Talking Point 12B (“We can’t do this ‘cos the NHS will go bankrupt”).
January 2025 the Labour Government said it will provide £144 million in 2024/25 for Yemen. Yeman a UN country, people sinking ships agains with missile’s each estimated at £50,000 each. UN members are supposed to support safe passage of the sea. Labour can find money to reward terrorism but not our farmers.
I would suggest that Stamer looks at cutting the defence department’s spending first.