Cambridgeshire farmer Anne-Marie Hamilton responds to the government's decision on inheritance tax.
When growing up, our children were taught that we would tolerate most things, but if we caught them lying, they would be for the high jump! Lying destroys trust, and once trust is lost, then so are you!
So, I cannot understand why this government thinks that the UK public are mugs and cannot see that their attack on British farming will harm every single person in this country - not just working family farms who are the backbone of food production nationally.
Serious flooding in Spain endangered not only lives, but food stocks, too. War continues in Ukraine, which supplied much of our wheat in the past, and many other countries do NOT produce food to our own high standards.
Food inflation has not matched general inflation. We need a fair price for what we grow but often receive less than the cost of production from supply chains. Add extreme weather with more floods and droughts, and our home supplies are jeopardized, too!
Two recent world wars should have taught us that we must be able to feed ourselves. In 1947, an enlightened Labour government brought in a law to protect farming so that this country would never have to undergo rationing again in times of trouble.
Frankly, I would not trust any hostile nation not to ‘have a go’ if we weaken our defences by relying on imported food to feed our people.
Also, is it morally right to deprive third world countries of their food where people are often already at subsistence levels, when we are perfectly capable of growing our own food here?
Everyone needs access to a regular supply of safe food that is cost-effective and reasonably priced. If we outsource this, we completely lose control of not only our food security and food that is produced to strict hygiene and safety levels, but also become ‘hostages to fortune’ on price and availability if purchasing from abroad.
Lies and misinformation by certain members of this current government have been exposed by the public who are not fools and should not be treated as such. Thankfully,
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