Sunday, August 3, 2025
Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay has called on Keir Starmer to scrap his “spiteful” family farm tax ahead of Labour’s Party Conference next month amid warnings of an “autumn of discontent” within the industry.
Mr Findlay was at the Turriff Show today (Sunday), the biggest two-day agricultural event in Scotland, and the Aboyne Highland Games on Saturday, to hear from farmers and rural businesses about their concerns.
The party leader, who was joined by Harriet Cross MP, Alexander Burnett MSP, and Douglas Lumsden MSP, also spoke to a range of organisations, including the National Farmers Union for Scotland.
As well as the looming 20% inheritance hike on farms from April next year, concerns were raised to him about the SNP’s proposed Muirburn licensing scheme, and the lack of resources to deal with wildfires.
In his discussions with the industry, the threat of pylons, battery storage sites, and wind turbines to farmland was also prominent, as was the Scottish Government’s opposition to the use of gene editing in agriculture.
It comes as the Office for National Statistics published new figures showing a record 6,365 rural businesses closed in the past year, the highest number since quarterly data was first collected in 2017. Most of these closures occurred in the six months since last autumn’s Labour Budget.
Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said: “I was delighted to attend both the Turriff Show and Aboyne Highland Games to speak with farmers, crofters, businesses and people from across rural Scotland.
“The message from farmers was clear: ‘our voices are being ignored by both of Scotland’s governments’.
“Our farmers are the lifeblood of our country but their very future hangs in the balance without adequate support.
“Labour’s spiteful family farm tax threatens livelihoods across Scotland, undermining generations of hard work while risking the breakup of family farms.
“This reckless policy will cause an autumn of discontent within the industry, which is why I am calling on Keir Starmer to finally do what’s right by scrapping this idiotic and damaging tax ahead of his Labour Party conference next month.”
He added: “For too long our farming sector has suffered from a lack of financial support from the SNP government, who have attacked farming to distract from their own failings, such as missed targets on greenhouse gas emissions.
“Under my leadership, the Scottish Conservatives have set out a positive vision which will respect and protect the industry; abolish Labour’s family farm tax; grow financial support; enhance food security and improve fairness in the food supply chain for farmers.”