Member of the Senedd for Monmouth, Peter Fox, has slammed Monmouthshire MP, Catherine Fookes for voting in favour of the ‘family farm tax’.
Resolution 50 of the Finance Bill was voted upon on Tuesday evening. The resolution deals with the UK Labour Government’s proposed changes to Inheritance Tax, including changes to Agricultural Property Relief, which have been widely described as a tax on the family farm.
The vote passed 327 to 182. One Labour MP, Markus Campbell-Savours, the MP for Penrith and Solway, voted against the plans, which has been welcomed by Mr Fox, but has since seen the Labour MP suspended.
Mr Fox has been a vocal critic of the proposed family farm tax and believes it will be devastating to rural communities in Wales and across the United Kingdom.
The Monmouth MS recently hosted the Leader of the Opposition, Kemi Badenoch MP, for a roundtable with businesses in Monmouth, where the Conservatives re-affirmed their commitment to scrapping the punitive measure.
Peter Fox has previously called on Monmouthshire MP, Catherine Fookes to stand up for her rural constituency, farmers, and local businesses by opposing the tax, but denounced her decision to vote in favour of the motion on Tuesday evening.
Local MS for Monmouth, Peter Fox, has said:
“Farmers are the backbone of Monmouthshire, Wales, and our rural communities, yet they are being abandoned and punished by this UK Labour Government.
“As our MP has been appointed as a Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister, I am sure that no one will be surprised to see her once again towing the Labour party line, rather than standing up for her constituents and Monmouthshire.
“I on the other hand will always stand up for Monmouthshire, as will the Welsh Conservatives, and we will never abandon our farmers or rural communities, and will keep working until this punishing tax is scrapped.”
