MP accuses chancellor of wilful neglect

She stated: “On the 30th of October the Chancellor upended our economy though tax rises and punitive death taxes. She has delivered a devastating blow to thousands of family farms and small businesses – the very backbone of our economy and rural communities.”

The DUP’s Westminster Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs spokesperson said: “When will the Chancellor realise that she was elected by the people, for the people?

“Every day she avoids engaging with the farming community, is another day of wilful neglect. Our farmers are being driven out, not by market forces, but by a government, blind to their struggles and deaf to their voices! When will she listen and agree to speak with them?

“Farmers across the United Kingdom are the depths of despair in the wake of the government’s attack on family farms. The impending death duties aren’t just policy tweaks, they are existential threats to generations of work, sacrifice and stewardship of our land. The UK economy is being shattered and national food security is in jeopardy.”

The MP added: “Rachel Reeves needs to face up to the damage she is doing. It’s time to do the decent thing and meet with members of the farming community in this regard.

“The Chancellor can’t keep hiding behind her Minister.”

MP’s on the green benches erupted with laughter when EFRA committee chairman, Alistair Campbell MP, described exchequer secretary James Murray MP, as the Chancellor’s ‘human shield’.

Ms Lockhart concluded: “I agree with the Rt Hon member for Orkney and Shetland, who said the Chancellor showed a distinct lack of respect, bordering on contempt for farmers, when she sat in the chamber, but wasn’t prepared to stand up and answer for herself.

“Enough is enough! Our farmers, our family businesses and our rural way of life deserve better than silence and spin.”