Farmer fury escalates as Reform UK MP leads charge against Reeves's 'barefaced lies'

Farmer fury escalates as Reform UK MP leads charge against Reeves's 'barefaced lies'
Jeremy Hunt lashes out at Rachel Reeves's budget
GB News
Jack Walters

By Jack Walters


Published: 31/10/2024

- 07:43

Updated: 31/10/2024

- 21:02

Follow below for live updates from Westminster and beyond with GB News

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY HOLLY BISHOP AND JAMES SAUNDERS

British farmers have become increasingly frustrated after Rachel Reeves launched a tax raid against the agriculture sector in yesterday's Budget.

The Chancellor is now imposing inheritance tax on agricultural estates worth more than £1million.


The levy will stand at 20 per cent, with many warning it could lead to the "death of the family farm".

Reform UK's Great Yarmouth MP Rupert Lowe joined forces with ex-Top Gear star Jeremy Clarkson in opposing Reeves measures.

In his latest tirade, Lowe said: "I don't say this lightly, but Labour lied to the country during the campaign - not just once, but over and over. Barefaced lies and dishonesty."

There is growing speculation that farmers could look to launch tractor protests comparable to those seen earlier this year.

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GB News EXCLUSIVE: Rachel Reeves REFUSES to rule out wanting to be PM

Rachel Reeves and Christopher HopeRachel Reeves refuses to rule out wanting to be PM

GB NEWS

Rachel Reeves has refused to rule out wanting to be Prime Minister.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer was asked by GB News' Political Editor if there was one more job she wanted in Government, perhaps the bigger job, she said: "I've always wanted to be Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader and Prime Minister, is 62 years old and will be approaching pension age at the next general election in 2028 or 2029.

This is likely to lead to speculation about how long he will stay on as leader if Labour wins a second term.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

'Close' Tory leadership race comes to an end

Tory leadership race brackets

The winner in the Tory leadership contest will be announced on Saturday

PARLIAMENT/GB NEWS

Voting in the Conservative Party leadership race came to an end at 5pm today.

Kemi Badenoch, Robert Jenrick, James Cleverly, Tom Tugendhat, Mel Stride and Priti Patel had all thrown their hats into the ring to succeed Rishi Sunak - and now, just the former two remain.

The winner will be announced on Saturday morning - with Badenoch currently backed as the favourite to win.

Jenrick, on the other hand, has insisted the contest was "close", saying "we're chasing down every vote".

The two went head-to-head on GB News on October 17 - and Tory members will now endure two days of waiting until the results are announced on Saturday, November 2.

Assisted Dying opposition grows AGAIN as Lib Dem leader joins charge against controversial Bill

Ed Davey

'I looked at what's happened in Canada... I think we should be very wary,' Davey said

PA

Sir Ed Davey has suggested he's prepared to vote against Assisted Dying - joining a growing cross-party movement against the Bill.

MPs are set to debate the controversial legislation next month - while an eventual vote will not be whipped - but Davey, with his lived experience caring for his disabled son and terminally-ill mother, has raised concerns over how people could feel like "burdens" on their families.

At a lunch in Westminster today, Davey said "yes" when asked if he was ready to vote against the Bill.

"I'm going to listen to the debate and I think every single MP has listened very closely and been open-minded to it.

"It's a free vote and I don't know what all my colleagues will do, I'm sure some will vote for it.

"I am very minded to vote against it because of the impact on the psychology, if you like, of elderly people and some disabled people.

"I genuinely worry that people could feel burdens on their loved ones and their family and without telling them say they agree to voluntary euthanasia. I think that is a deeply worrying position.

"I won't go into all my personal experience but my mother had a very painful form of cancer and I used to administer morphine to her.

"I was by her bedside when she died and I can tell you that I don't think she would have wanted anything different."

He added: "I looked at what's happened in Canada... They started quite narrow and it's very quickly broadened to a lot of different groups of people. I think we should be very wary."

Rachel Reeves' new 'Value for Money' chief paid £950 PER DAY... after already overseeing budget-busting HS2

Rachel Reeves' new Office for Value for Money chief is being paid £950 per day after overseeing the UK’s budget-busting HS2 project.

The Chancellor confirmed David Goldstone would take on the post during her maiden Budget yesterday.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Reeves told MPs: “I can confirm today that David Goldstone has been appointed chair of the new office for value for money to help us realise the benefits from every pound of public spending.”

The Government has since revealed that Goldstone wil receive a day rate of £950 on the basis of a monthly average of one day a week commitment.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

‘Bonkers!’ Farmer rages at being ‘hoodwinked’ by Labour with inheritance tax raid

A British farmer has claimed he can "no longer afford to die" following Labour's inheritance tax raid on the agricultural industry.

Olly Harrison told GB News: "I can't afford to die basically. The tax bill that my children would end up with is not able to be paid through farming.

"The agricultural industry at the moment is on its knees. We've had some really bad weather patterns over the last five years, and there is no profit to put to one side to pay a 20 per cent tax bill."

He added: "I'm the fourth generation on this farm. We were tenants originally, and mum and dad paid a mortgage for a long time to be able to pass it on to me - I will probably now end up with a tax bill on some of it.

"And now the tax bill would be many hundreds of thousands if I was to die and pass it on to my children. And the profit is not there in agriculture to be able to pay that."

Reeves will RAISE TAXES AGAIN after £40bn penny-pinching Budget

Chancellor Rachel Reeves will need to raise taxes again despite yesterday's £40billion Budget, an economic expert has claimed.

Paul Johnson, who heads up the Institute for Fiscal Studies, claimed he would bet "an awful lot" that Reeves will have to boost spending further at future Budgets to appease her Cabinet colleagues.

“That will probably mean, unless she gets lucky with growth, more tax rises to come next year or the year after,” he told the BBC.

Responding to the OBRA downgrading the UK's growth forecasts, Johnson added: “The growth forecasts are pretty awful, there is a bit of an increase in the first year or two… but go two or three years out then there is a great big tax rise in there which is going to reduce people’s incomes, and the OBR says the increases in borrowing and so on are going to increase interest rates.”

Reeves' eye-watering £40billion tax hike represents the largest raid on taxpayers' pockets in modern British history.

The Chancellor out-taxed Norman Lamont's 1993 Budget in cash terms by around £1.5billion, with Rishi Sunak's 2021 Budget including increases of around £31.3billion.

Wes Streeting in GB News grilling as Tom Harwood highlights manifesto breach

Health Secretary Wes Streeting found himself on the end of a brutal grilling on GB News as host Tom Harwood took him to task on Labour’s raft of tax-hiking measures.

Tom said Rachel Reeves’s tax raids, which will raise around £25bn, are a “blatant” breach of Labour’s manifesto.

But Streeting sought to defend decisions taken by Labour, saying they were needed to address profound financial issues left over by the previous Tory government.

WATCH THE FULL CLIP HERE

Starmer concedes NHS staff need to work more 

Sir Keir Starmer has conceded NHS staff will need to work more as Labour pushes ahead with reforms to assist healthcare stare.

At a hospital staff Q&A in the West Midlands, the Prime Minister said: “I also want to be honest with you, we are going to be asking more of you. There’s no point me standing here and saying your workload will go down.

“The whole point is people are living longer. They’ve got more conditions. What the NHS is facing now is different to what it was facing in the post-war period, your workload is likely to go up, not down.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves added: “We have got to make those longer-term investments to drive those productivity and efficiency reforms as well.”

Rachel Reeves finally admits workers WILL be punished from her Budget with pay rises slashed over crippling costs

Rachel Reeves has admitted that her Budget will negatively impact workers, with pay rises likely slashed thanks to an increase in National Insurance contributions from employers.

In a bid to close the £22billion "black hole" in public finances, the Chancellor announced a variety of tax and borrowing measures yesterday.

One change introduced was the increase of National insurance Contributions, which will be paid for by employers.

Employers will have to pay an additional 1.2 per cent to 15 per cent from April 2025.

Asked about the impact of the increase, the Chancellor told the BBC: “I said that it will have consequences.

“It will mean that businesses will have to absorb some of this through profits and it is likely to mean that wage increases might be slightly less than they otherwise would have been.

“But, overall, the Office of Budget Responsibility forecast that household incomes will increase during this Parliament.

“That is a world away from the last Parliament, which was the worst Parliament ever for living standards.”

John Healey hands out poppies after GB News revealed Defence Sec attended Cabinet without one

Labour's Defence Secretary John Healey has been handing out poppies at Victoria Station ahead of Armistice Day.

Healey, who launched the Royal British Legion's poppy appeal last week, yesterday came under fire after GB News revealed that he attended Cabinet without a poppy.

Responding to yesterday's blunder, a source close to Healey told GB News: "The Defence Secretary had changed his jacket just before a meeting and bought a new poppy as soon as he arrived at No10.

"He has deep respect for our Armed Forces and all those who paid the ultimate price to defend our country, as he said when he visited the Poppy Factory last week."

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Tory leadership voting closes in just 6 hours

Robert Jenrick, GB News Political Editor Christopher Hope (centre), and Kemi BadenochRobert Jenrick, GB News Political Editor Christopher Hope (centre), and Kemi BadenochGB News/PA

The Tory leadership race is entering its final furlong as members have just under six hours to vote for Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick.

Conservative Party members will need to choose between Jenrick and Badenoch, with the leadership winner being announced on Saturday.

Reeves labelled 'compulsive liar' after 'Halloween horror show'

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is a "compulsive liar" and delivered a "Halloween horror show" Budget, Tory leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick has claimed.

Speaking to Sky News, Jenrick said: "What we saw yesterday was a Halloween horror show. This was the biggest political heist in modern British history.

“£40 billion of tax rises hurting people across this country and just three months ago the Labour Party won an election on a pledge not to raise taxes.

“I am afraid Rachel Reeves, who you have just interviewed, is acting like a compulsive liar.

“She said during the general election she wasn’t going to raise taxes. She just has. She said she wasn’t going to increase debt. She just massively increased debt.

“And then after the election she invented that there was a black hole. The public will not trust this Labour Government. They are making it up to justify immense tax rises that are going to hurt the economy, hurts people’s working lives.”

Martin Lewis issues 'bad news' for families after key change left out of Rachel Reeves' Budget

Martin Lewis has announced disappointing news for families following Labour's Autumn Budget announcement.

Labour has confirmed it will not change the current system of Child Benefit, despite Lewis's campaign for reform.

The decision, revealed in Government documents, maintains the current rule that particularly affects single-parent and single-earner families.

CHECK OUT THE FULL STORY HERE:

Rachel Reeves slammed for 'ignoring fuel tax' amid push to ditch petrol and diesel - 'Huge mistake!'

Petrol pump and Chancellor Rachel Reeves with the BudgetExperts criticised Rachel Reeves for not addressing fuel tax in the Budget PA

A leading motoring expert has criticised the Government for its decision to "ignore fuel tax" in Labour's first Budget since the July election.

Speaking in Parliament yesterday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveiled the Government's fiscal plans for the coming years as it attempted to account for a £22billion spending black hole.

Several new measures were unveiled for motorists including a surprise continued freeze of fuel duty, new electric vehicle incentives and additional funding to repair potholes.

CHECK OUT THE FULL STORY HERE:

Record £40bn budget will STALL growth, warns OBR

Rachel Reeves' freshly announced £40billion budget will stall growth, the Office for Budget Responsibility has warned.

The fiscal watchdog has downgraded growth forecasts for the next five years, in a blow to the Chancellor's fiscal vision where the party said they would embark on “large, sustained increase in spending, tax and borrowing”.

The economy will continue to grow at the rate it was previously forecast, despite Reeves pledging £70billion in spending increases.

The extra spending will give a short-term lift to economic output, however, the average growth rate over the next five years will remain unchanged.

The OBR said that increased public spending would "crowd out" private investment while tax increases on businesses could jeopardize profits and wages.

They added that interest rates and inflation would jump up by 0.25 and 0.4 percentage points, respectively.

Richard Hughes, the head of the OBR, said the new changes lined out in the Budge the tax burden will reach "a historic high of 38 per cent of GDP by 2029/30".

Hughes said: “Against a largely unchanged economic and fiscal backdrop since our last forecast in March, this budget delivers one of the largest increases in spending, tax and borrowing of any single fiscal event in history.”

Jeremy Hunt launches brutal attack on Rachel Reeves after ‘biggest tax-raising Budget in history’

Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt has hit out at his successor today on GB News after she unveiled the Autumn Budget in the Commons yesterday.

Rachel Reeves, to the dismay of many MPs, set out a series of tax hiking measures with the aim of plugging a £22bn ‘black hole’ she says was left by the previous Conservative Government.

Speaking to Stephen Dixon and Ellie Costello, Hunt accused Labour of fibbing about the economic outlook and lamented a Budget that he says will be “tough for families”.

He told GB News: “We all face pressures in public finances and we all face an economy recovering from the pandemic.

“The big question is, how do we get more money into our public services like the NHS without raising taxes in a way that damage economic growth?

CHECK OUT THE FULL STORY HERE:

Chancellor: 'We won’t have to do a Budget like this ever again'

Chancellor Rachel Reeves with the Budget red boxRachel Reeves delivered the Budget this afternoonPA

Rachel Reeves said that yesterday's £40billion budget was a one-off event which has "wiped the slate clean".

She said that “as a result of what we have done we are not going to have to come back and ever do a Budget like this again”.

The Chancellor told Sky News this morning: “This was a Budget that fixed the foundations and wiped the slate clean. It was a big Budget, it was a significant Budget but we have now brought out into the open things that were covered up by the previous government and swept under the carpet."

She said that the debt and deficit are now on a more stable path and everything is now out in the open.

"As a result of what we have done we are not going to have to come back and ever do a Budget like this again because we have brought everything out into the open.”

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