Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer held private talks with NFU President Tom Bradshaw at 10 Downing Street on Monday 25 November.
A No. 10 spokesman said, “The Prime Minister did meet the National Farmers’ Union president Tom Bradshaw on Monday afternoon. They had a wide-ranging conversation in which the Prime Minister recognised the strength of feeling about the changes to agricultural property relief set out in the Budget and listened to the NFU’s concerns.”
They continued, “In the meeting they discussed the Government’s commitments to solidly protecting the interests of British farmers including in trade negotiations and in public sector procurement, as well as working together to ensure environmental land management schemes deliver for farmers.
“But the Prime Minister took the opportunity to have a constructive conversation with Mr Bradshaw about why we believe the changes are the right approach and to discuss how they can work together to support British farmers.”
Speaking at the UK Onion & Carrot Conference two days later, Mr Bradshaw elaborated on the meeting. “[The Prime Minister] was certainly in listening mode. He didn’t understand all of the consequences… My absolute priority has been to remove the human impact from this. It is understandable that the industry is [reacting] in the way it is because we all know somebody who, because of the changes made on the 30th of October, have no ability to plan for a generation who have given absolutely everything to produce this country’s food. That is simply something that I will not accept.”
Following the meeting, Tom said, “I welcome the Prime Minister asking to hear directly about farmers’ concerns, and I am grateful to him for taking the time to do so. I hope we can work together towards a resolution on this issue. The PM engaged with us and made the time to hear our story and I really hope this marks a moment where we can move forwards and get to an outcome that works for everyone.”
Speaking on 27 November Tom added that while he understood calls for more direct action, and could not stop farmers from doing so, the NFU now believed the Government needed some time to be able to review the polices announced in the Budget.
