Union leader tells PM to prove case for 'tractor tax'

Sir Keir Starmer has suffered a new blow in the row over his "tractor tax" after the leader of the UK's unions backed family farms.

- KATE DEVLIN, ARCHIE MITCHELL

In an exclusive interview with The Independent, TUC general secretary Paul Nowak threw down the gauntlet to the Labour leader to prove the case for the controversial change to inheritance tax.

In a surprise intervention, Mr Nowak revealed his fears about chancellor Rachel Reeves’s tax raid, raising concerns about the consequences for hardworking families across Britain. “I’m worried about the impact of that on small farmers,” he told The Independent. “I know that for some small employers, national insurance contributions will also be a worry next year, particularly for those companies operating on small profit margins.

“Anyone would be worried,” he continued, when asked about the fears of family farmers, who have taken aim at the government with a series of protests in recent months. “You wouldn’t want the policy to impact on small family farms, because that was never the intention. The onus will be on the government to demonstrate that this doesn’t have the impact that some fear it will have.”

Responding to his warning, Tory MP Sir Geoffrey CliftonBrown, himself a farmer, said Mr Nowak was “correct to be worried about the hugely damaging impact of Labour’s tax increases on family farms”.