Victoria Collins MP Joins Herts Farmers at Rally
Victoria Collins, MP for Harpenden and Berkhamsted, met with farming constituents at the National Farmers Union protest in Parliament Square, London to listen to farmers’ concerns about the blow the Budget has dealt to family farms.
Farmers from Harpenden and Berkhamsted visited Parliament to meet with Victoria, to discuss their concerns about the really damaging impact the government’s family farm tax will have for them. Victoria also joined farmers at the NFU rally outside Parliament, to hear Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey deliver a speech urging the government to rethink the tax hike.
Since the recent Budget, the Liberal Democrats have strongly opposed this change to inheritance tax and have urged the government to axe the family farm tax.
Liberal Democrats are also calling for an additional £1 billion a year to support farmers, alongside a scrap to the bus fare cap increase that’ll be a huge blow to rural communities.
The challenges facing farming communities can be seen across the board, with latest government statistics revealing that in 2023/24, average Farm Business Income was lower for all farm types except for specialist pig farms.
The government has also decided to accelerate the phase out of direct payments to farmers under the basic payment scheme – all recipients will see the base amount of their payments cut by 76% next year. Victoria has called for the government to urgently review this. By failing to do so, we are not giving farmers a fighting chance of sustainably and profitably feeding the nation and protecting our natural environment.
Commenting on this, Victoria Collins MP said: ‘Family farmers across Harpenden and Berkhamsted have already been failed by the Conservative party – they can’t now be let down by a Labour government that doesn’t understand them.
‘From meeting with local farmers in Parliament to discuss their concerns, I know how disastrous this family farm tax could be for them. They’ve already suffered from the Conservatives’ botched trade deals alongside energy and feed prices soaring. This tax hike will be yet another blow.
‘I’ve already raised this in Parliament following the Budget but will continue to do so; the government must rethink this family farm tax, and give farmers greater support as a vital part of our local and national economy. I’ll keep pushing them on this.’
Berkhamsted Living Magazine is delighted to share this article as it relates to the interests of the local town. However, it should not be construed as being representative of our views, which are not party political.