Sir Keir Starmer has distanced himself from comments by a former Tony Blair adviser who said Britain “doesn’t need small farmers”.
The prime minister said he “totally disagrees” with John McTernan, who said he was in favour of doing to farmers “what Margaret Thatcher did to the miners”.
The former Conservative prime minister closed down coal mines during her premiership, which was seen as the beginning of the end of Britain’s once-mighty coal industry.
Asked about Mr McTernan’s remarks during a Q&A at the COP29 conference, Sir Keir said: “I’m absolutely committed to supporting our farmers, I said that before the election and I said it after the election.
“I was very pleased that we’re investing £5bn of our budget for the next two years into farming.
“I think it’s essential that they not only prosper, but prosper well into the future, so I totally disagree with those comments.”
Sir Keir has been caught up in a row with farmers after the budget introduced a tax of 20% on inherited farming assets above £1m.
Farming groups warn the change will have a “catastrophic” impact on family farms and have threatened to go on strike and blockade ports unless there is a change of course.
Speaking to GB News, former Labour aide Mr McTernan said he is “personally in favour” of doing to farmers “what Margaret Thatcher did to the miners” and “close down an industry”.
John McTernan
“This is an industry we can do without,” he said.
“If people are so upset they want to go on the street and spray slurry on them, then we don’t need the small farmers.”
Mr McTernan’s comments have been attacked by senior Tories, with shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick accusing Labour of a “politics of bitterness and envy” regarding the tax measures.
Comments ‘shockingly irresponsible’
A Labour source branded his comments “shockingly irresponsible nonsense from someone who does not represent the government”.
They told Sky News: “Labour values the hard work our farmers do to feed the nation. That’s why we have just agreed the biggest budget in history for sustainable food production.
“Farmers will still be able to pass on family farms from generation to generation, and rightly so. By stopping wealthy individuals buying up farmland to avoid inheritance tax we will keep land values affordable for a new generation of farmers.”
Inheritance tax relief currently allows farmers to pass on their land and property tax-free to their families, either within their lifetimes or in their will.
At the budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that from April 2026 the 100% relief would be limited to only the first £1m of combined agricultural and business property.
For anything above that, landowners will pay a 20% tax rate, rather than the standard 40% rate of inheritance tax (IHT) applied to other land and property.
Ministers have insisted that only around a quarter of farmers – the largest landowners – will be affected.
However, farmers and unions say it will be much more wide-ranging, with the potential to affect 75% of food production in the UK and making the cost of British food more expensive.
