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Organisers of this week’s farming rally have admitted Reform UK leader Nigel Farage wasn’t allowed to speak on the main stage due to Brexit and his divisive opinions.
While politicians and ministers from various parties were invited to speak at the rally, Nigel Farage wasn’t offered an invitation due to his controversial and over-political rhetoric on issues such as Brexit, farmers leading the rally have said.
Farmers attempted to make the event as apolitical as possible in hopes of persuading the Labour government to reconsider its changes to inheritance tax which will impose a 20 per cent levy on all farms with over £1 million in assets.
When asked about Reform UK’s leader being invited to the event, Olly Harrison, a farmer and one of the organisers of the rally said: “The event is non-political.
“We have invited representatives of all political parties to speak and we don’t want our event used for political point-scoring. We want it focused on the farmers and the troubles we are facing at the moment.”
There were also concerns that Farage’s presence might be controversial amongst the rural community, as Brexit led to trade deals with Australia and New Zealand that undercut farmers and resulted in subsidy reductions.
However, Nigel Farage claimed that “Brexit is barely relevant, other than the fact that we are in charge of our own agricultural policy.”
A spokesperson for the farmers’ rally added: “The organisers had taken into consideration many offers of contributing. As an event, we wanted to offer an olive branch to government to open dialogue. The ministers from government were invited, but declined.”
