Brits accuse Keir Starmer of neglecting rural communities | Politics | News | EUROtoday

Britons say Labour doesn’t care about rural communities, a damning new ballot has discovered, after a yr of rows about taxing farmers and banning path searching. Two-thirds of voters imagine Sir Keir Starmer’s authorities neglects rural folks, whereas three-quarters say Labour prioritise city points over rural considerations.

The findings have been revealed hours earlier than a whole lot of 1000’s of Britons end up for what would be the final ever Boxing Day hunts, after the federal government mentioned it intents to ban path searching of their newest battle on countryside life. The identical ballot, commissioned by the Countryside Alliance, discovered that not a single one of many 2,000 voters requested mentioned banning path searching ought to be prioritised by the federal government. Tim Bonner, chief govt of the alliance, mentioned it’s proof that Keir Starmer has “alienated rural people” throughout his first 18 months in energy.

Mr Bonner warned: “Its warped priorities have put taxing family farms, raising rates for rural businesses and banning trail hunting above policies that would benefit rural people.

“While the partial changes to the family farm tax are a step in the right direction, the government must desperately learn the fundamental lesson of this policy debacle, which is that it needs to work with the rural community – not legislate against it. The government has a very long way to go to rebuild trust”.

Farmer Gareth Wyn Jones added: “There’s a real feeling the government just doesn’t understand the countryside and that they are targeting us to create a culture war.

“It has taken Keir Starmer over a year to reluctantly accept the government’s farming inheritance tax proposals are a disaster, but with more damaging rural policy coming down the line, it’s unlikely to quell the anger.”

The findings got here as official statistics revealed that Rachel Reeves’ Family Farms Tax has already wrought havoc on the countryside, sparking the most important ever closure of farms since data started.

In the 12 months to October, greater than 6,200 farming companies closed in response to the Chancellor asserting plans to levy crippling Inheritance Tax on farms.

While the Government lastly u-turned this week and introduced that the deliberate IHT threshold could be raised from £1 million to £2.5 million, agricultural consultants warned that irreversible harm has already been carried out.

David Exwood, deputy president of the National Farmers Union mentioned: “The high number of farm business closures we have seen over the past year underscores the challenges and lack of confidence within the sector.

“The cashflow pressures, extreme weather, global volatility, the family farm tax and uncertainty over environmental schemes have all made it harder for farmers and growers to produce the nation’s food and be profitable while doing it.”

On Tuesday the son of a farmer who took his personal life in response to Rachel Reeves’s tax seize mentioned the modifications are the “best Christmas present”.

John Charlesworth, 78, who glided by his center title Philip, was discovered lifeless by his son in a barn on their farm in Silkstone, Barnsley, on October 29 final yr.

An inquest at Sheffield Coroner’s Court heard that within the months earlier than Rachel Reeves’s Budget, he had been “growing more and more anxious about inheritance tax and the implications for the farm”.

His son Jonathan Charlesworth informed the inquest he believed his father needed to “beat” the Government’s proposals and “save the farm for future generations”.

He mentioned that “pressure from the industry has paid off”, including: “It is a step in the right direction – more farms will sleep better this Christmas without the threat of inheritance tax looming over them.

“There will, however, be plenty of larger family farms that will have to plan for potential inheritance tax costs and a further window for them to do this would be beneficial.

“It’s a welcome U-turn that won’t bring back the lives lost over the last year or so due to the anxiety caused, but will hopefully prevent a flood of suicides running up to the commencement in April.

“Pressure from the industry has paid off – this will be the best Christmas present for a lot of farmers.”