A government source said: “As any responsible government would do, we would rightly prepare for a range of scenarios to ensure consumers are not affected.”
Supermarkets and food suppliers are closely monitoring the situation. Sainsbury’s said it is “not anticipating any issues at this stage, but we are monitoring the situation closely”.
Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, said: “Retailers are closely monitoring the impact of the potential interventions, including strikes, but are adept at dealing with disruption and working hard to ensure that customers will not suffer any consequences. ”
Tax exemption ‘being exploited’
Writing for The Telegraph, Mr Reed acknowledged that the tax change “could cause uncertainty” but added: “If farmers check the facts, they will see that this change is fair and proportionate for everyone.”
He said the inheritance tax exemption for agricultural land was being exploited by wealthy people from non-farming backgrounds, claiming they had bought up such land to avoid the levy.
Mr Reed said: “This has driven up land prices in rural areas, leading to plunder young farmers of the dream of owning your own farm.
“About 40 percent of the value of this tax loophole has gone to just 7 percent of landowners. It has become the most effective way for the super-rich to avoid paying inheritance tax – costing other taxpayers as much as £200 million a year.
“This is money that should be invested in our schools, health care services, transportation and other public services that farmers and families in rural communities rely on. This isn’t fair, so Labor is asking the wealthy estates and the most valuable farms to pay their share.”
Oliver Ryan, another Labor MP, suggested opponents of the tax attack were wrong.
The Burnley MP told a critic of X policy that he is being “gassed” – or brainwashed – “by people who own huge tracts of land”.