Kemi Badenoch, MP for North West Essex co-hosted a farming roundtable with fellow Essex MPs Sir James Cleverly, MP for Braintree and Dr Neil Hudson, MP for Epping Forest and Shadow DEFRA minister, alongside the National Farmers Union at the Essex Young Farmers Centre in Little Waltham.
The roundtable brought together local farmers from across Essex, to discuss the Government’s cruel family farm tax, which despite their partial U-turn will still impact many family farm businesses across North West and the country, and the Government’s lack of understanding of the rural way of life.
Commenting, Kemi Badenoch MP for North West Essex, said:
“I have had countless meetings with farmers since becoming leader, attended rallies and received thousands of messages from the farming community and they all agree on one thing – Labour simple does not understand or care about farming and Britain’s rural communities.
“Labour’s partial U-turn on the Family Farm Tax does not go far enough. The Conservatives would scrap this cruel tax altogether. We should not punish people who do the right thing, maintain our environment, and feed the country. I will always stand up for North West Essex’s farmers.”
Commenting Sir James Cleverly TD VR, MP for Braintree said:
“It was great to join Kemi and meet with the Braintree Branch of the NFU and neighbouring Essex farmers as part of my regular meetings with local farmers.
“We had a constructive discussion on the Labour government’s partial U-turn on the family farm tax - a step in the right direction, but one that still doesn’t go anywhere near far enough to protect family farms.
“We also spoke about UK food security and the long-term future of British farming - issues that matter not just to farmers, but to all of us.
“Our farmers deserve policies that back them, not burden them.”
Commenting Dr Neil Hudson, MP for Epping Forest said:
"As Shadow DEFRA Minister, it was a pleasure to join the Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch and the Shadow Communities Secretary James Cleverly at the NFU roundtable hosted by the Essex Young Farmers Centre and see again firsthand the dedication of our Essex farmers, both young and old.
"Conversations like these highlight the serious challenges facing our rural communities. We Conservatives will always stand shoulder to shoulder with farmers, protect our food security, and we will keep holding the Government to account until it delivers the support our farming communities deserve.”
