Is it me… or is it that the country always seem to be in a perceived crisis when there’s a Labour government in office?
Thousands of farmers were demonstrating in Westminster today over controversial inheritance tax changes introduced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in the recent budget. The changes, which are due to come into effect in 2026, has predictably caused fury within the farming and the wider rural community. Not surprisingly, this has been exploited by wealthy landowners and their supporters, who have been complaining endlessly about it in the media, joined by, of course, the Conservative and Reform parties.
The protests remind me of the troubles the last Labour government had on rural issues, which led to the rise of organisations like the Countryside Alliance. In the eyes of their critics, there is a often-repeated perception that Labour hates the countryside. What is puzzling is that many of these same critics in the countryside repeatedly support and vote for the Conservatives… the same party who screwed them over and failed to look after them when they needed help. Many of them also voted for the UK to leave the European Union, which meant the departure from both the single market, the customs union, and the loss of freedom of movement.
As for Labour, their repeated failure to explain their policies properly to the general public, particularly on the issue of tax, will continue to hurt them very badly during this parliament.