Watch: Blair aide says Labour should ‘do to farmers what Thatcher did to miners’
Credit: GBNews
A former aide to Sir Tony Blair has called on Labour to “do to the farmers what Thatcher did to the miners”.
John McTernan, who was Sir Tony’s political secretary, told the Chancellor not to budge on her inheritance tax raid on agricultural land, saying Labour “don’t need small farmers”.
Under changes announced by Rachel Reeves last month, farming assets worth more than £1 million will be liable for 20 per cent inheritance tax from next year.
“If the farmers want to go on the streets, we can do to them what Margaret Thatcher did to the miners,” Mr McTernan told GB News.
“It’s an industry we can do without. If people are so upset that they want to go on the streets and spread slurry, then we don’t need small farmers.”
Thousands of farmers, including Jeremy Clarkson, are expected to descend on Westminster on Nov 19 to oppose Ms Reeves’s new tax, claiming it will force many family farms out of business.
Some are threatening more radical plans, including targeting ports and disrupting supermarket supply chains by withholding produce and livestock.
The move to blockade ports would mirror widespread protests across Europe earlier this year, when farmers used their tractors to barricade the Belgian port of Zeebrugge, as well as the routes to several ports in Germany.
Last week, The Telegraph revealed that some farmers were threatening to stop spreading sludge on their land in protest at plans to impose inheritance tax on their estates.
Mo Fisher, of the Countryside Alliance, said: “It’s incredibly concerning to think that there are people out there that get some sort of ideological kick out of wanting to do down farmers, and even more shocking that they can get so close to the reins of power.
“Mr McTernan is, however, in a minority, and farmers and their families know the public object to views like this and support them and all their hard work fully.”
Murdo Fraser, a Tory member of the Scottish Parliament, tweeted: “Wow. The mask slips, as a former senior Labour advisor tells us what the party really thinks about small farms.”
Andrew RT Davies, the leader of the Welsh Conservatives, said: “These comments are disgraceful, but are sadly indicative of how many people in the Labour Party seem to feel.
“It’s clear that, for many on the Left, the anti-farmer agenda is a new frontier in the class war, whereby farmers are being punished for not sharing the metropolitan world views of those in London and other cities.
“I will always stand with our farmers because, like most people in Britain, I know that no farmers means no food.”
Sir Keir Starmer slapped down Mr McTernan, saying at a press conference in Azerbaijan: “I totally disagree. I’m absolutely committed to supporting our farmers.
“I said that before the election, and I say it after the election. That is why, in our Budget last week, I was very pleased that we’re investing £5 billion over the next two years in farming.
“That is really important for our farmers, and I will do everything I can to support them because I think it’s essential that they not only prosper, but prosper well into the future. So I totally disagree with those comments.”
Victoria Atkins, the shadow environment secretary, asked whether Steve Reed, the Environment Secretary – or “City Steve” – agreed with Mr McTernan.
She said: “The mask has well and truly slipped,” adding: “After dismissing our warnings as ‘desperate nonsense’, Labour have brought forward proposals that will decimate our farming industry and this former Labour adviser has shown the left wing way of thinking about small farmers. Does City Steve agree with him?”
Distancing the party from Mr McTernan’s comments, a Labour source said: “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.”