A motion to support Isle of Wight farmers following contentious Labour tax changes has been passed by Full Council.
On Wednesday evening, a majority of councillors voted for Councillor Claire Critchison’s proposal that Council Leader Phil Jordan calls for the Island’s MPs to ‘advocate for a pause and further consultation on the changes’ and write to the Government to ask that the ‘effects of these various actions on the farming community’ are ‘considered as a whole’.
Her submission also instructs County Hall’s cabinet to meet with National Farmer’s Union representatives to ‘discuss how the council can support and work with local farmers and rural businesses’ and ‘consider all reasonable and practical measures to provide support to and work with the farming sector in the future’.
The motion’s preamble stated:
“The Isle of Wight’s farming and rural community are at the heart of our Island as food producers, employers and custodians of the land, and the important role they can play in nature restoration and flood alleviation.
“Our farmers are in the front line of climate change and so have borne the brunt of severe weather and flooding, affecting harvests and the sustainability of their businesses.
“In light of the objections to the changes to Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) announced by the government in the Autumn Budget.
“And the fact that the changes have the potential to introduce a ‘Family Farm Tax’, which severely undermines the viability of our Island’s farming sector and threatens the nation’s food security.”
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Isle of Wight East MP Joe Robertson said:
“I support this very sensible motion. It’s entirely in line with what the Conservative opposition in Westminster have been campaigning on.
“The family farm tax is a disastrous mistake from the Labour government’s budget. I’m not optimistic but there’s always an opportunity for them to row back on it, U-turn and make a different decision at the next fiscal event.”
Cllr Chris Jarman, representative for Totland and Colwell, said:
“I’m supporting this very strongly indeed. Quite a large number of my family are in farming and they’re all thrown into a real tizz by this.
“It’s really nice to see all the sensible parties uniting against this – such an awful move.”
Cllr Vanessa Churchman, who represents Haylands and Swanmore, said:
“I can’t believe that anybody would try to control farming. The one thing we have to do in the morning is get up and eat.
“We are an Island for goodness sake and it would be so easy to be blockaded by anybody or everybody.
“It’s far cheaper to grow our own food and think about how eco-unfriendly it is, having ships, planes, whatever, transporting food from the Americas, from Europe, into this country.
“I just can’t believe the stupidity of making farming even more difficult than it has been over the last 20 years.”
Look how the farmers were treated in the Netherlands.
It is all part of the New World Order.
Congratulations! First time I have agreed with you.
That is nice to know, I will try and not let myself down.
Lol
Why shouldn’t farmers be controlled and taxed as well as the rest of us.
You won’t be saying that if you can’t get any
food.