‘Labour becoming the cruel party’ over tax changes, warns farmer baroness
The IndependentGet the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Labour is “almost becoming the cruel party” over inheritance tax reforms impacting farmers, one of its peers has claimed. We are almost becoming the cruel party Baroness Mallalieu The president of the Countryside Alliance, Lady Mallalieu told The Daily Telegraph newspaper: “It has taken the Labour Party 14 years to win back the trust of the countryside after that last attack on hunting. “Since the last election we have more than 100 MPs in rural seats, but here we are making the same mistakes again.” In a phrase which echoes a description Theresa May once used of the Tories as the “nasty party”, Lady Mallalieu added: “We are almost becoming the cruel party.” Sir Tony Blair’s first Labour ministry is remembered among many in rural communities for the fox hunting ban, a measure the Countryside Alliance opposed. Speaking to the Telegraph, she said: “On the march, I heard there have been four suicides already among farmers and, for me, the most unpleasant side – and I don’t think the Government thought about this – is that they are saying to elderly farmers, make yourself die before March 2026 to save your family from losing their home.” On Friday, Sir Keir Starmer insisted his Government was supportive of farmers, as well as of pensioners, as he faced questions about the tax reforms and the decision to limit winter fuel payments to only the poorest pensioners.