Hello everybody, I am going to start off with a simple message.

This policy is cruel, it is unfair, and it is going to destroy farming as we know it.

And that is why we will at the very first opportunity reverse the family farms tax.

I have here with me Victoria Atkins and Robbie Moore, they are the shadow ministers who are watching what the Department for the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs is doing. They’re watching the Treasury. We are the team that are working for you.

We know the burden that farmers are carrying. A lot of people think that farming is just a business. It is not just a business. It is a way of life. It is about family. It is about the land. It is about the environment. It is about our food. We cannot survive without you.

I want you to know that we have your backs. We are all, and Neil, Neil is here too, Neil Hudson. We are all MPs who have rural constituents. We cover the rural communities.

We know what farming is like. We understand that you have no certainty.

We know that bad weather, a bad harvest could put you out of business.

We know that you are buffeted every day by what happens all around the world. We know that you need protection. We understand that you have been doing this all your lives.

That without you, we cannot eat. We understand the burden that farmers carry, not just for yourselves, but for the whole country. We understand how difficult it is when you’re negotiating with supermarkets.

We understand how difficult it is when you are looking at prices for fertiliser. We know what you are dealing with and that is why we know how this tax will destroy your way of life.

And that is why we are going to reverse it.

But I want you all to know this, that farming in this country is absolutely critical for growth. And it is also about the hope that we give to young people.

I have a lot of young farmers in my constituency, Victoria, Robbie and Neil do too. We speak to them, and they are worried.

They don’t want to have to pay inheritance tax and be paying off to the Treasury in 20/30 years before they even start making a profit. They will leave farming. And if we don’t have a next generation, there will be no future.

So I want to say to all the young farmers out there, to all the young people out there, we are going to look after you.

We are going to make sure that you have a future. We are doing this for you. It is not about us. This is about you.

This is about making sure that your way of life continues, that our way of life continues. Farming is the backbone of this country. Without it, we cannot survive.

We know that we haven’t always got it right, but this policy is so obviously unfair, so obviously cruel. We will do everything we can to make sure that in a few years time, if they do not U-turn now, we will reverse this tax.

Thank you, everybody.

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