Farmers besieged the conference in tractors while Sir Keir was speaking. Defending the Prime Minister, Ms Haigh said: “What Keir Starmer put to our colleagues at the Welsh conference yesterday was a defense of the budget.”
She added: “None of us came to power to impose taxes on farmers.”
Noting that she has friends and family in the agriculture industry, she said, “We understand the concerns and appreciate how hard farmers work.” But she stressed that the family tax is “fair and proportionate”.
Daniel Zeichner, the Agriculture Minister, told BBC Politics East: “I urge people to look carefully at the details and I think they will find that the vast majority will do well.
“The figures from the Treasury are very clear: fewer than 500 farms per year are likely to be affected and I would say to people: get advice because everyone’s situation is different and there will be a lot of people who will notice that this is not the case. will be caught because of this.”