Moment farmer blasts ‘rat’ Keir Starmer and says he’s ‘not man enough’ to face protesters.l
The furious farmer blasted the PM as anger mounts over Labour plans to saddle rural families with a massive new tax burden.
A furious farmer h as torn strips off Sir Keir Starmer today
Speaking to Sky News today (Saturday) Gareth Wyn Jones: “He should’ve been man enough to come out and talk to the people… he should listen to the people.
“It’s so frustrating he’s ran out the back door like a flipping rat. People have come to talk to him. He didn’t even have the guts to come here and address them.”
Mr Wyn Jone’s words come as farmers protested against inheritance tax changes outside the Welsh Labour conference where Sir Keir had been speaking saying he would defend Labour’s Budget “all day long”.
A clearly exasperated Mr Wyn Jones added: “They’re destroying an industry that’s already on its knees and struggling, absolutely struggling, mentally, emotionally and physically.
A farmer has blast the PM as ‘not man enough’ to face protesters (Image: Sky News )
“We need Government support, not more hindrance, so we can produce food to feed the nation.”
Mr Wyn Jones disputed the Government’s estimation that only 500 farming estates in the UK will be affected by the inheritance tax changes.
He said: “Look, a lot of farmers in this country are in their 70s and 80s, they haven’t handed their farms down because that’s the way it’s always been, they’ve always known there was never going to be inheritance tax.”
A row has erupted over the new taxes for farms worth more than £1 million, exacerbated by uncertainty about the figures Ms Reeves based the decision on.
Treasury data shows that around three-quarters of farmers will pay nothing in inheritance tax as a result of the controversial changes announced in the Budget last month.
However, farmers have challenged the figures, pointing instead to data from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs which suggests 66% of farm businesses are worth more than the £1 million threshold at which inheritance tax will now need to be paid.
The PM said he would defend Labour’s Budget “all day long” (Image: PA )
Sir Keir did not mention the inheritance tax move on farmers explicitly in his speech, but said he would defend the “tough decisions” his Government has made.
He said “Make no mistake, I will defend our decisions in the Budget all day long. I will defend facing up to the harsh light of fiscal reality.
“I will defend the tough decisions that would necessary to stabilise our economy and I will defend protecting the pay slips of working people, fixing the foundations of our economy and investing in the future of Britain and the future of Wales, finally turning the page on austerity once and for all.”
He also hailed the “record figure” of £21 billion allocated to Wales in the Budget.
