Lord Taylor of Holbeach (Con)

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Baroness—my coalition friend—on getting this debate. How topical it is. The industry is in shock; the truth is that nobody expected this, probably including Defra. Farmers are having to cope with lots of other difficulties, in particular the weather. Uncertainty is one thing, but deception is another. I use that word as a third-generation farmer. I do not farm any more, but the business is in the hands of my son and my nephew and I have a grandson reading agriculture at Newcastle at the moment. This is what family businesses are about. The shock is fed by the sense of deception. At the Lincolnshire Show, during the general election campaign, I challenged the president of the NFU, Tom Bradshaw, about the rumour in the paper. He said, “That’s only Conservative propaganda”. I had no idea, but I expected a better answer or at least an acknowledgement that this might have some bearing on things. On 15 October, I hosted in this House the presentation of the agricultural societies awards. The Secretary of State, Steve Reed, came along and was asked directly whether he believed that inheritance tax alterations were likely; he said that he had no such information and no view that they were likely to occur. I think the anger was based on that deception. I like and admire the Minister, but what would she say if a progressive farmer asked her advice about investing in a new automated harvesting machine, for example, or whether he should buy the acreage of land up for sale next door? If we want growth in farming—I agree with the Government’s growth agenda—we need progressive farming, investment in farming and farmers prepared to back the Government’s policy.