RACHEL Reeves yesterday declared she won’t back down and scrap the “family farm tax” as pressure on the Chancellor hit boiling point.
Thousands of furious agricultural workers are due to protest in Westminster on Tuesday against a 20 per cent inheritance levy on land and tractors valued at over £1m.
Farmers have warned Ms Reeves if she doesn’t u-turn after the protest, meat and veggies will be withheld from supermarkets.
There have also been threats of tractors “blocking every road in Britain”.
But as the pressure boiled over on Friday, a defiant Ms Reeves argued “those decisions have been made”.
She said: “We’re not going to be changing those but of course we will continue to talk to those in the farming sector, the National Farmers Union and others to make sure we support our great British farming sector.”
Ms Reeves also defended a fresh pledge to loosen rules around bankers’ bonuses.
As part of a bonfire of regulations, the Treasury is set to allow city fat cats to access extra pay three years earlier than the current five year waiting period time.
The move should encourage senior banking staff to stay in Britain rather than move abroad where they can earn more cash.
Ms Reeves said: “We need to regulate for growth, we need to seize growth opportunities in Britain.
“We’ve brought in Britain systems that mean that bonuses and pay have to be deferred over a number of years.
“We’ve got out of kilter with other countries around the world, making it harder to recruit and retain talent in Britain so we are working with the regulators to reform those rules.”
Farmers have also threatened to stage a last-minute protest outside Labour’s Welsh party conference in Llandundo today – which could get smelly.
A group called Enough Is Enough has put out a call for farmers to arrive at the seaside town in the morning armed with tractors, lorries and even slurry.
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