Without farmers we do not have food. It is that simple – Tim Eagle

Farming is personal to me.

As a sheep farmer in my home area of Moray, I am acutely aware of the challenges facing the industry right now.

Indeed, I wanted to highlight the realities of being a farmer not long after becoming an MSP by speaking in the agriculture bill debate live from my lambing shed.

Labour’s brutal Budget is one that must be fought against and fought against until they realise the error of their ways.

While I want to stress that I will not be personally impacted by Labour’s cruel Family Farm Tax, that does not mean I am any less angry about what it will mean for our hard-working farmers.

Labour’s changes, which only last year they promised they would not bring forward, threaten the very future of the family farm across Scotland and the United Kingdom.

It is the height of arrogance for Steve Reed, Labour’s DEFRA Secretary to say that he is proud of what his party have done. He should not be proud, he should be ashamed.

Perhaps we should not be surprised by these insulting comments from Labour given that the party included fewer than 100 words on farming in their General Election manifesto earlier this year.

The response since the backlash from farmers and the wider public began to unfold has confirmed that Labour are out-of-touch with farmers needs and they simply do not get it.

I have been contacted by many people who are concerned that this will spell the end for the family farm and the dreams of young farmers have been shattered by Labour’s disastrous plans.

Keir Starmer said himself last year losing a farm is like no other business. It cannot simply come back.

So what has changed? People might have voted for change at the election, but this is the complete opposite of what farmers wanted.

Not only will Labour’s Family Farm Tax make succession planning nigh on impossible, it also puts our future food security at risk.

Add to that, Labour’s decision to remove the ring-fencing of agricultural funding risks vital support being cut, and their plan to reclassify double cab pick-up trucks as cars rather than commercial vehicles, risks farmers being landed with yet another eye-watering tax bill.

Without farmers we do not have food. It is that simple, yet Labour is digging their heels in.

Until they do the right thing and ditch the Family Farm Tax, then we will not stop putting the pressure on.

A petition launched by the Conservatives across the United Kingdom has already gained over 50,000 signatures.

All of our MSPs have signed a letter urging Rachel Reeves to U-turn. And my MP colleague Harriet Cross who has being doing sterling work on this issue, hand-delivered a letter to the Chancellor signed by dozens of Conservative MPs worried about the devastating impact of the Family Farm Tax.

I will be proud to lead a debate in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday for the Scottish Conservatives, showing how we are standing up for farmers interests and we make no apologies for that.

Farmers are at the heart of the communities I am honoured to represent in the Highlands and Islands.

They are integral to our way of rural life across the country. Labour want to tear that apart.

This shameful betrayal of our farmers cannot go ahead. Labour must ditch the Family Farm Tax now.

Tim Eagle is Scottish Conservative shadow rural affairs secretary