PM Starmer claims that farming is ‘top of the agenda’

Yesterday, PM Starmer was criticised at Prime Minister Questions after a minister reportedly told farmers that they are “not high up on the government’s pecking order”, just one day after the latest major protest against the controversial family farm tax on Whitehall.

While speaking at the Norfolk Farming Conference, the environment minister Daniel Zeichner was confronted over Rachel Reeves’ hated inheritance tax hike on hard-working farmers.

At Prime Minister’s Questions, Conservative MP Harriet Cross condemned these comments, saying: “Yesterday the farming minister told a conference of farmers that farming is ‘not high in the pecking order for this government’. Given the heartless family farms tax, is his minister correct? Yes or no.”

‘Overshadowed by the fallout from the Budget’

The Prime Minister distanced himself from the comments, insisting: “Farming’s top of the agenda as far as I’m concerned”.

Sir Starmer continued: “That’s why we’ve put £5 billion to support farmers in the Budget, they failed to spend £300 million on their watch on farming, and we’ve set out our roadmap, which has been welcomed by the NFU as she very well knows.”

Mo Metcalf-Fisher, director of external affairs for the Countryside Alliance, said the news that farming is top of the government’s agenda comes as somewhat of a “welcome surprise”.

“I’m not sure the chancellor has got the memo though, as she’s still refusing to engage with farmers over the disastrous family farm tax.

“Until that happens, it’s difficult to see how the government’s rural and farming agenda won’t be overshadowed by the fallout from the Budget,” Mr Metcalf-Fisher concluded.

Rural campaigners have argued that 75% of farm businesses could be impacted by the inheritance tax changes, with other industry estimates suggesting 2,500 farmers a year will be hit by the overhaul, five times as many as official forecasts.

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