Georgia Pearce
Guest Reporter
Gareth Wyn Jones has warned Labour to "stop kicking farmers" with their inheritance tax policy as he claimed that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves have "totally got it wrong".
Organised by the National Farmers' Union, thousands of farmers will descend on Westminster in a mass lobby to confront MPs about the decision.
However, disgruntled farmers have warned of "militant action" if the outcome they are hoping for is not reached.
Speaking to GB News, farmer Gareth Wyn Jones outlined the impact on the agricultural industry that the tax will have, stating that it is "an extra stress and strain on an industry that's already on its knees".
Wyn Jones fumed: "We've had one suicide over a farmer that was worried pre-Budget, and the inheritance tax is ridiculous.
"The whole reason for them to keep taxes off land was to keep food affordable for the masses. That's what's happened over all these years since the Second World War, but if we don't be careful, we'll be going back to that."
Highlighting the importance of the farmer's land in order to produce food for the nation, Wyn Jones warned that farmers will be forced to "sell their land" to make up for the 20 per cent tax they are now facing.
Wyn Jones explained: "They're taking so much land out of the equation for roads, for building for solar farms, and we need this land to produce food. When you put an inheritance tax on a small family farm, the majority of farms are going to be worth over £1million.
"Either you're going to have to sell 20 per cent of your assets, which is your land, what you produce the food on, or you're going to have to up your product by 20 per cent.
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"So in my opinion, food is going to skyrocket and we're going to be seeing a lot of the poorer people in our society not being able to afford it, and we are going to see food shortages."
When asked about the possible strike action farmers could take in response to the decision, Wyn Jones claimed that it is the "first time" in his career that he has heard of farmers willing to down tools in response to government policy.
He added: "These people have totally got it wrong and it needs to be re-looked at and readdressed. I've heard this week, for the first time ever, farmers talking about going on strike. It's something I never thought I'd hear in my lifetime. And that's what we're hearing.
"Farmers have had enough, and enough is enough. It's time for these governments to start listening and stop kicking us every single time and keeping us down. We're feeding the nation and we need support, and we know the general public are behind us."
Hitting out at the Labour government and the PM, Wyn Jones accused the Labour leader of "turning his back" on farmers despite his promise to "support family farming".
Wyn Jones stated: "It's the poorer people within society which won't be able to afford food, because all these legislations and laws that are coming against the people that I believe that are one of the most important people in the equation in this country, which are farmers, and it's one of the last industries we've bloody got.
"So we've got to protect it, and it should be coming from the top. It should be coming from Keir Starmer after his speech in the NFU meeting. He told everybody he was going to protect family farms and he's turned his back on us. He's put the final nail in the agricultural farming family coffin and shame on him.
"And you know what? He should really look in the mirror and think to himself what he said and what he's doing, because there's big differences."
Find Out More...
Organised by the National Farmers' Union, thousands of farmers will descend on Westminster in a mass lobby to confront MPs about the decision.
However, disgruntled farmers have warned of "militant action" if the outcome they are hoping for is not reached.
Speaking to GB News, farmer Gareth Wyn Jones outlined the impact on the agricultural industry that the tax will have, stating that it is "an extra stress and strain on an industry that's already on its knees".
Wyn Jones fumed: "We've had one suicide over a farmer that was worried pre-Budget, and the inheritance tax is ridiculous.
"The whole reason for them to keep taxes off land was to keep food affordable for the masses. That's what's happened over all these years since the Second World War, but if we don't be careful, we'll be going back to that."
Highlighting the importance of the farmer's land in order to produce food for the nation, Wyn Jones warned that farmers will be forced to "sell their land" to make up for the 20 per cent tax they are now facing.
Wyn Jones explained: "They're taking so much land out of the equation for roads, for building for solar farms, and we need this land to produce food. When you put an inheritance tax on a small family farm, the majority of farms are going to be worth over £1million.
"Either you're going to have to sell 20 per cent of your assets, which is your land, what you produce the food on, or you're going to have to up your product by 20 per cent.
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"So in my opinion, food is going to skyrocket and we're going to be seeing a lot of the poorer people in our society not being able to afford it, and we are going to see food shortages."
When asked about the possible strike action farmers could take in response to the decision, Wyn Jones claimed that it is the "first time" in his career that he has heard of farmers willing to down tools in response to government policy.
He added: "These people have totally got it wrong and it needs to be re-looked at and readdressed. I've heard this week, for the first time ever, farmers talking about going on strike. It's something I never thought I'd hear in my lifetime. And that's what we're hearing.
"Farmers have had enough, and enough is enough. It's time for these governments to start listening and stop kicking us every single time and keeping us down. We're feeding the nation and we need support, and we know the general public are behind us."
Hitting out at the Labour government and the PM, Wyn Jones accused the Labour leader of "turning his back" on farmers despite his promise to "support family farming".
Wyn Jones stated: "It's the poorer people within society which won't be able to afford food, because all these legislations and laws that are coming against the people that I believe that are one of the most important people in the equation in this country, which are farmers, and it's one of the last industries we've bloody got.
"So we've got to protect it, and it should be coming from the top. It should be coming from Keir Starmer after his speech in the NFU meeting. He told everybody he was going to protect family farms and he's turned his back on us. He's put the final nail in the agricultural farming family coffin and shame on him.
"And you know what? He should really look in the mirror and think to himself what he said and what he's doing, because there's big differences."
Find Out More...