Being at the heart of the farmer protest in London on Tuesday (November 19) is a day I will never forget. What a show of unity it was. Thousands of farmers, rural business owners and even members of the public standing side by side in hope of change was a sight to behold.
It certainly sent a clear message: This is just the start.
Inheritance Tax
Critically, the industry has to tackle Chancellor Rachel Reeves' narrative that taxing family farmers to the tune of £500 million is essential to fund public services. To put it in context, the Government has pledged to invest £25 billion in the NHS, yet there is no plan to reform the ailing health service.
NHS
So, let us flip this. A Love British Food project from a Lancashire NHS hospital (as reported by Farmers Guardian here) highlighted that by putting local, seasonal British foods on its menu, patient stays were brought down on average by 1.7 days.
A real difference can be made by increasing the amount of nutritious food in the public sector, but people should be able to feed themselves and their families such food at home. Without supporting home-grown produce, we put all of this – and more – at risk, and FG's Save Britain's Family Farms campaign aims to showcase just what farming can deliver for society.
Being immersed in the protest reminded me how vital it is to listen to the people, and if the Government does not do that, it is, as many said on Tuesday, going to make a big mistake.
A mistake it has made already in assuming it can fix a broken system by taking it from one and blindly giving it to another, when actually the two are intrinsically connected.
It would also do well to take note of the banners, warning: ‘Do not bite the hand that feeds you'.
