Budget 2024: Farmer hits out at Chancellor on GB News
A devastated farmer shared insight into the "impossible" changes in the government's new 2024 Budget recently anncounced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
GB News presenters Stephen Dixon and Ellie Costello welcomed potato farmer James Fairlie who stated: "It's terrible news to be honest, because without sounding flippant, £1 million of farmland these days is 100 acres.
"People who have 100 acres have a full time job, so anything over that, to add on 20 percent and also we forget the captial gains tax, as well as high interest rates to borrow against that, it's unviable. It's not possible."
He shared: "I'm a seventh generation farmer on this land, we've been here since 1703 and we hand it down. It's what we do, we're not sitting on this huge asset to be able to then sell it to live the life of Riley.
"We're doing this for just food that keeps you alive, I don't know how hard that is to understand for people in Westminster ... nobody needs anybody more in the UK than we need a farmer ... they're killing the hand that feeds them, literally."
Stephen asked James: “The National Farmers Union says it's going to organise a big protest in London. Is that something you’d take part in?”
He responded: “Oh 100 percent, we can’t fathom how close this is to D-Day for agriculture.
“This is monumental and I’m actually amazed and this shows how big this is, that all the crisis’ we’ve gone through the National Farmer’s Union have never really spoken up.
“The fact that they’ve already organised a march in London just shows you how monumental this is.”
Don't miss...
Reeves red-faced as top economist brands Treasury's Budget document 'nonsense' [LATEST]
ITV fans say same thing as Martin Lewis slams Rachel Reeves in blistering attack [REACTION]
Angry farmers threaten to unleash 'buckets full of s***' on Parliament [LATEST]
The potato farmer added: “It’s terrible, you look at the suicide figures in agriculture mental health, they are staggering.
“There was a report of a farmer who had taken his own life before the Budget was released because of the hysteria and the noise that came out about the potential that might happen to his family farm.”
James continued: “It is a very, very, very lonely place to work.”
