‘Rich farmers backed the Tories who ruined our country – now they can reap what they sow’

FARMERS once accused me of being a dirty socialist hellbent on crushing their way of life. It was 2002 and a 300,000-strong Tweed Army had hit the capital in their tax-deductible Range Rovers for a Liberty and Livelihood march to scream persecution over Labour’s plans to outlaw hunting.

Three Prince Harry clones cornered me and demanded to know which newspaper I was from. And when they learnt it was the Mirror, they called me a Berkeley Hunt and accused me of being part of a class war against their noble stock. I told them I didn’t see anything classy about ripping apart foxes for fun and got orf their land sharpish.

They were back in London this week, once again playing the class war card after Labour decided the richest farmers must do what the rest of us do, and be liable for inheritance tax.

But this isn’t a war, just a much-needed battle to rebuild a country whose public services have been firebombed by a party which only ever looks after its own class. Which is why it was nauseating to see the Tory shadow cabinet take centre stage at this week’s protest, playing the role of the farmers’ friend – despite their Brexit (which the majority of farmers voted for) slashing subsidies and leading to zero-tariff trade deals which will allow foreign meat to flood our markets.

It was almost as nauseating as arch-Brexiter Nigel Farage in full country squire gear, attacking the “elites”, and his fellow multi-millionaire Jeremy Clarkson, who bought up farmland to “shoot” and “so the government does not get any of my money when I die” moulding himself as modern-day peasants’ revolt leader Wat Tyler. Isn’t it funny that when train drivers protest, right-wingers label them militant scum, but when farmers do the same, they are victims.

Isn’t it strange that when French farmers block roads hampering Brits heading to their summer gites, they are blackmailing thugs – but when British ones block central London streets, they are heroes? Well, here’s a few more questions for those heroic victims, a small number of whom might have to cough up half the tax the rest of us do (with a decade to pay it) if they leave an estate that is worth more than £3million.

How can you claim that the main beneficiaries of the current system aren’t a rich cabal, when between 2018 and 2020, nearly £600million in inheritance tax relief went to 200 estates with an average value of £6million?

Aren’t the 100,000 pensioners forced into poverty by the removal of the winter fuel allowance even bigger victims in the battle to rebuild our shattered public services?

What about the hundreds of ­thousands of taxpayers advised to bung extra cash into pensions, as they were inheritance tax free, and are now liable to lose 40% of it?

How about people who run care homes or pubs hit with burdensome employee NI rises? Or parents paying VAT on private schools? Or young people with mental health issues forced to take up work or training or lose benefits?

The thing about tax is that it’s human nature to think someone else should pay it. But this country has been left in such a state by the party most of the wealthiest farmers support, that we’ve all got to cough up.

Surely if any group can understand that we reap what we sow, it’s farmers.