MP Carla Lockhart has urged families to donate pre-loved farm toys to the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) initiative, as part of its Stop the Family Farm Tax campaign in protest of changes to inheritance tax.
The NFU is planning to display a selection of vintage and modern machinery, alongside the donated farming toys, at its annual conference in London on Tuesday, February 25.
Donations can be sent via mail or dropped off in person to the NFU Agriculture House in Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, or, alternatively, toys can be hand delivered to the NFU conference. They will then be donated after the conference.
The MP said “the more toy tractors the better” in order to send a message to the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, challenging her decision to alter the inheritance tax reliefs.
“I am urging members of the UK’s four farming unions to take part in this latest element of the ‘Stop the Family Farm Tax’ campaign. The Labour government’s proposed ‘tax heist’ will have far reaching and devasting consequences for future generations of aspiring young farmers,” MP Lockhart said.
She added that if the plans are implemented next year, that the Chancellor “will be responsible for killing off the agricultural industry”.
“Farming families, and especially young children, will be denied a future as custodians of the land and forced to choose alternative careers, rather than following in the footsteps of previous generations,” MP Lockhart said.
“DAERA estimates that half of Northern Ireland farms will be impacted; while the OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) has suggested that the number of farmers affected will be five times greater than the Treasury estimates,” MP Lockhart added.
She has called on the Labour government to “reconsider” its decision, with some Labour Party backbenchers already reportedly questioning the rationale of their party.
Around 1,400 tractors gathered in Whitehall this week to protest the changes, along with thousands of farmers and supporters, which marks the third rally since the autumn budget, with more planned for the coming weeks.
During a debate this week at Westminster Hall, MP Lockhart said: “Early mornings, late nights, no holidays and low profit margins are typical in the daily life of a farmer. They do it because they love the land, want to feed our nation and sustain our rural communities.
“This tax grab is a wrecking ball – it will decimate our family farms. If Labour proceeds down this path, it will have the death of family farms and rural Britain and Ulster on its hands. The fight goes on.”
The MP said that the farmers demonstrating outside the Houses of Parliament must be heard, and what she described as the “tax grab” must be stopped.
