Labour peer says Keir Starmer’s inheritance tax raid on family farms ‘smells of incompetence’ and is hammering the party’s rural support as ministers brace for London protest [Video]

04:50 EST 18 Nov 2024, updated 05:07 EST 18 Nov 2024

Keir Starmer‘s inheritance tax raid on farmers ‘smells of incompetence’ and is hammering the party’s support in rural areas, a Labour peer has warned.

Baroness Mallalieu, who is also president of the Countryside Alliance and a part-time farmer in Somerset, likened the row to Tony Blair‘s decision to ban fox hunting, which she also opposed.

The barrister, 78, lashed out at the decision to make wealthy farmers pay IHT on the agricultural value of their land for the first time – albeit at a discounted rate.

Ahead of a major protest by farmers planned for Westminster tomorrow the peer told the BBC‘s Westminster Hour that ‘the majority of the Cabinet’ had become ‘urban’. 

She added that while many of them ‘may have a cottage’ they did not interact with people who live in the countryside. 

‘On the train to Taunton the other day I’ve had people saying …