Defra Secretary's 'warm words' at Oxford Farming Conference 'unjustified' without Inheritance Tax U-turn

How have farmers reacted to the Defra Secretary's speech?

Chris Brayford
clock • 3 min read
Ben Aveling, of Radmore Farm in Towcester, said: "He had a chance to redeem himself today. There are some good ideas in there and that farming should solely be for food production. But if there is no U-turn on Inheritance Tax, it does not matter what plans you have for the future because there will be no farms out there. You cannot have plans for the future of farming and then have plans to take them away. It is a privilege to be a farmer but you cannot tell me these plans will work if there are no farms. It will not work without them."
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Ben Aveling, of Radmore Farm in Towcester, said: "He had a chance to redeem himself today. There are some good ideas in there and that farming should solely be for food production. But if there is no U-turn on Inheritance Tax, it does not matter what plans you have for the future because there will be no farms out there. You cannot have plans for the future of farming and then have plans to take them away. It is a privilege to be a farmer but you cannot tell me these plans will work if there are no farms. It will not work without them."

Defra Secretary Steve Reed has failed to grasp farmer's concerns surrounding Inheritance Tax changes at the Oxford Farming Conference. Mr Reed delivered his speech, containing more than 3,000 words,...

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