By GB News (World News) | Created at 2024-12-29 12:09:21 | Updated at 2025-01-01 07:47:22
2 days ago
A Scottish farmer has launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's controversial farm tax policy, describing it as "a two fingers up to farming".
In a fresh blow to Labour amid the ongoing inheritance tax row with the agricultural industry, a new survey by Public First has revealed just one in five voters believe Labour cares about people who live and work in the countryside.
James Frayne, a partner at Public First, said: "Labour's ratings with all voters are very poor at the moment, but with rural voters they are catastrophic."
When asked how he personally felt about the tax changes, Ayrshire farmer Bryce Cunningham told GB News: "For me personally, I felt it was a little bit of a sort of a two fingers up to farming from the Government."
Keir Starmer has been blasted by a Scottish farmer as the Prime Minister's popularity amongst rural voters plummets
However, Cunningham stressed that the agricultural sector needs fundamental changes to survive.
"We have to get food at prices for the food that we sell as farmers. We need to get away from this whole sort of supermarket globalisation, big dairy sort of attitude," he said.
The farmer added: "Farming itself has to change in the way that we operate.
"It's the lowest possible prices and I think we really need to go different all the way from the bottom of the supply chain, all the way to the top."
Cunningham explained: "Farming is one of the most resilient industries out there. It's the original industry - everyone's eating since day dot.
"So I think it's going to survive - how it's going to survive is one of the question marks we have."
As a small scale farm in Scotland, Cunningham hailed the industry's "strength in numbers" and collaboration, to make the best products for their consumers.
"On site we actually pasteurise milk for five other farms," he explained. "Because we have a direct relationship with the consumer, the consumers are getting a better product, the farmers are getting better pay."
Cunningham told GB News that the farming industry has 'strength in numbers'
GB News
A Government spokesman defended the tax changes, emphasising their "steadfast" commitment to farmers.
The spokesman highlighted a £5billion farming budget commitment over two years, including increased funding for sustainable food production.
They added that the reforms will only impact around 500 estates annually. "For these estates, inheritance tax will be at half the rate paid by others, with 10 years to pay the liability back, interest-free," the spokesman said.
The Government described this as "a fair and balanced approach" to fix public services. They also revealed plans for a 25-year farming roadmap focused on making the sector more profitable.
