'I WILL NOT LET LABOUR DESTROY RURAL WAY OF LIFE'

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch vows to fight for farming communities as the 'lifeblood of this country'

- Martyn Brown

KEMI Badenoch has made an an impassioned vow to stop Labour from destroying the rural British way of life as she promised to reverse the hated farm tax.

The Conservative leader says she will never stop fighting for farmers and their communities who she says are "the lifeblood of this country".

Writing exclusively in the Scottish Daily Express Mrs Badenoch warns that Keir Starmer's "cruel" plan to hike Inheritance Tax on farms will crush families and destroy vital businesses.

"The rural British way of life is to be cherished, not to be squandered," she says.

Her remarks come as a massive boost to the Daily Express Save Britain's Family Farms crusade which demands a U-turn.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves used her nightmare Budget last Autumn to cap the Agricultural Property Relief at £1million, with anything over that taxed at 20%.

The UK Government insists the majority of farms will be unaffected and the policy will be introduced from April 2026.

In her biggest intervention yet on the issue, Mrs Badenoch said the proposed changes are based on "astounding arrogance" and will cripple many family farms.

"They think that because land is expensive it means farmers are sitting on lots of cash in the bank," she says.

"Far from it. Farming families do not have the cash to spare." She adds that many farmers who want to keep their land will be forced to sell it to pay the tax bill - meaning they won't have the land to farm.