Rachel Reeves warned not to target farmers for a second time as she searches for spending cuts
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Labour told not to take money from flood defences and farm schemes in wake of inheritance tax raid in the Budget. The chancellor did not rule out emergency cuts on Tuesday as she responded to days of market turmoil and the growing cost of government borrowing. On Monday Keir Starmer also said the Treasury would be ‘ruthless’ in cutting spending.
![[Conservative MP Jerome Mayhew has warned farmers face further cuts]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/03/25/14/cd0724ec-8a38-44e2-a7eb-23169ecfa4d0.jpg)
The Chancellor has already prompted fury in the countryside with the ‘farming tax’ hike, which critics warn could sound the death knell for family firms in England. Now fears have been raised that they could be hit by a double whammy if Ms Reeves makes cuts to the Environment Land Management (Elm) scheme.
Late last year the Treasury flagged that “the government is facing significant funding pressures on flood defences and farm schemes of almost £600 million in 2024-25”. It added that “while the government is meeting those commitments this year, it is necessary to review these plans from 2025-26 to ensure they are affordable”.
“Not content with cutting agricultural property relief, the government seems primed to cut the nature-friendly farming budget after 2026. “Cutting this budget would be a fool’s errand for a government supposedly wanting to protect communities from flooding, fight climate change, protect nature, and support British farmers.
