Sir Keir Starmer Distances Himself from Adviser's 'We Don't Need Small Farmers' Remark

Sir Keir Starmer has distanced himself from comments made by a senior adviser to Tony Blair, John McTernan, who said "we don't need small farmers" during a discussion about the fury among farmers towards the inheritance tax rises announced in the Budget.

McTernan, who was the ex-Labour PM's political secretary, sparked fury as he said family farming is "an industry we can do without". He was asked about planned protests by farmers over Rachel Reeves' Budget, which will mean they have to pay 20 per cent of tax on inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1m from April 2026. The change is being dubbed the "tractor tax" and has sparked outrage among farmers, who say it will threaten the UK's food security and lead to the closure of family farms.

"If the farmers want to go on the streets - we can do to them what Margaret Thatcher did to the miners." Ms Thatcher used heavy-handed police tactics to break up miners' strikes in the 1980s and effectively destroyed the mining industry.

"It's an industry we can do without. If people are so upset that they want to go on the streets and spread slurry then we don't need small farmers."

"I am totally committed to supporting our farmers. I said it before the election and I say it after the election.

"This is shockingly irresponsible nonsense from someone who does not represent the Government. 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." The source stressed that farmers will still be able to pass on family farms from generation to generation, while wealthy individuals will be prevented from buying up farmland to avoid inheritance tax.

"Oh my God, how crazy is he?" Mr Wyn Jones said the UK's food security would crumble without farmers, asking whether McTernan believes supermarkets or the government are producing food without family farmers. "Be careful my friend, you might be just awakening a sleeping giant, a sleeping giant that is feeding you every day," he added.

"Pressure, pressure, pressure."

"These comments are disgraceful but are sadly indicative of how many people in the Labour Party seem to feel. It's clear that for many on the left, the anti-farmer agenda is a new frontier in the class war, whereby farmers are being punished for not sharing the metropolitan worldviews of those in London and other cities. I will always stand with our farmers, because like most people in Britain, I know that no farmers means no food."

Thousands of farmers are set to descend on London later this month in protest against the tractor tax, with the Metropolitan Police having given the march the green light.