Former Labour aide says UK ‘doesn’t need farmers’

The proposal to scale back inheritance tax (IHT) relief on farmland is mired in fresh controversy, with a former Labour special adviser insisting that farming is an industry “we could do without”.

John McTernan’s comments during a television interview have poured further fuel onto the flames of anger within the farming community that have been burning since the government’s autumn Budget.

Mr McTernan, who served as Tony Blair’s political secretary from 2005 to 2007, was interviewed on GB News on 11 November, during which he said Labour should “do to the farmers what [Margaret] Thatcher did to the miners”.

See also: BPS cuts were needed to save farming budget, says Bradshaw

In the interview, he said farming was “an industry we can do without”, adding: “If people are so upset that they want to go on the streets and spread slurry then we don’t need small farmers.” This was apparently a reference to unconfirmed reports of direct action.

Country Land and Business Association (CLA) deputy president Gavin Lane described the comments as “insulting”.

“British farmers are central to feeding the nation, looking after the environment, providing jobs and supporting the rural economy, and to claim otherwise is insulting,” he said.

Referencing Mr McTernan’s interview in a post on X, Welsh beef farmer and retired rugby union referee Nigel Owens wrote: “Wow. Just wow. Who the hell is this clown?”

Single academic

New evidence has also emerged that shines a light on how chancellor Rachel Reeves reached her decision to limit Agricultural Property Relief (APR) to the first £1m, claiming it was based on analysis by a single academic, Arun Advani.

According to the Guido Fawkes website, analysis calling for APR to be capped was produced by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) before the July election and was written by Mr Advani, who also sits on the advisory board of the Office for Budget Responsibility.

NFU president Tom Bradshaw said the union had been clear throughout that the Treasury had got its figures wrong.

“It’s staggering that, despite so many experts who actually know something about farming pointing out the harmful impact these changes could have on family farms, the government is so stubbornly sticking to using the wrong figures,’’ he said.

Liz Webster, the founder of Save British Farming, called for the chancellor to be held accountable for “such a grave error”.

“The data on IHT is wrong and the Budget fallout for farming puts our food security and future prosperity at risk,” she said.

A recent report for the Centre for the Analysis of Taxation (CenTax), calling for the introduction of this measure, was also written by Mr Advani, the website suggests.

CLA criticism

The CLA was withering in its reaction.

Mr Lane said: “The government does not appear to have properly thought through its changes to vital inheritance tax reliefs, and its response to the outpouring of concerns since the chancellor’s Budget has shown a lack of understanding of the scale and severity of the changes.

“Capping these reliefs risks crippling family farms of all sizes and will simply be unviable for many rural businesses.”

A Labour source said of Mr McTernan’s comment: “This is shockingly irresponsible nonsense from someone who does not represent the government.

“Labour values the hard work our farmers do to feed the nation. That’s why we have just agreed the biggest budget in history for sustainable food production.

“Farmers will still be able to pass on family farms from generation to generation, and rightly so. By stopping wealthy individuals buying up farmland to avoid inheritance tax, we will keep land values affordable for a new generation of farmers.”

The Cabinet Office has been approached for comment.