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Farmers’ union rallies support for challenge to ‘damaging’ Budget

NFU Scotland unveils plans for rallies at Westminster and Holyrood.

NFU Scotland president Martin Kennedy.
NFU Scotland president Martin Kennedy. Image: NFUS

National Farmers’ Union (NFU) Scotland has confirmed it will send its presidential team and directors to Westminster to protest over the “damaging” Autumn Budget.

They will meet up with counterparts from elsewhere around the UK for the “mass lobby” in London on November 19.

A further gathering is planned for outside Holyrood on November 28.

NFU Scotland will use the Edinburgh event to ramp up calls for more cash for the industry ahead of the Scottish budget on December 4.

It has invited “all members and the wider agricultural industry” to support both events.

Union urges all those concerned about the changes to write to MPs

The union is urging all members and “everyone who wishes” to join them to write to their MPs seeking an overturn of agricultural and business property relief cuts announced in last week’s Budget.

It is also highlighting the NFU’s petition against the changes, which are expected to impact family-run farms throughout the UK.

Farmer and girl n the countryside.
Changes to agricultural property relief will impact farmers’ succession planning. Image: Shutterstock

NFU Scotland president and Highland Perthshire farmer Martin Kennedy said: “The UK Government has delivered a budget that threatens food production, family farm businesses and the environment.

“They promised they would not put these at risk and they have done the complete opposite by imposing impossible tax burdens on family farms.

“They have also effectively washed their hands of a funding ring-fenced safety net that’s been in place for over 50 years when passing the budget in a lump sum to the Scottish Government.”

Are family farms at risk? Image: Shutterstock

He added: “For a government that has said in the past ‘food security is national security’ it has demonstrated a complete lack of understanding of how food is produced and by whom.

“Our members and others across the sector and wider society feel rightly betrayed. ”

Online information ‘hub’

NFU Scotland has created a Budget information “hub”, which can be found at nfus.org.uk/media/budget-information.aspx

This is also where people can gain access to the NFU petition.

Urging members who have not already registered for the London event to do so now, NFU said: “The level of anger in the industry may never have been so high.”


Read more: All five Scots Tory MPs sign letter urging ‘family farm tax’ U-turn

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