By admin 
Wales’ First Minister has sparked outrage after calling on farmers to “calm down a bit” over Labour’s tax raid.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has angered the farming sector after announcing changes to inheritance tax in the Budget.
Speaking during a BBC Radio 5 Live phone-in, Welsh Labor politician Eluned Morgan said initial calculations showed a “small proportion” of farms would be destroyed.
She added: “I think we all need to calm down a little bit until we know clearly how many farms are going to be affected, and we are analyzing the numbers on that.”
But her comments have sparked a backlash from the Tories and campaigners.
Welsh Tory leader Andrew RT Davies said: “I have no words for this. What planet exactly does Eluned Morgan live on?
“Like her predecessors, she is also a Labor prime minister who is completely out of touch with reality.”
Mo Metcalf-Fisher, director of external affairs at the Countryside Alliance, added: “Talk about misjudging the public mood.
“These patronizing comments suggest that the First Minister lacks basic empathy for the people who feed us and maintain our countryside, despite the many obstacles they face.
“Rather than telling farmers how to behave, perhaps the government should prioritize clarifying exactly how many farms will be affected by this abhorrent family tax. This is increasingly becoming a political and PR crisis.”
The Chancellor announced last month that the 100% inheritance tax relief for family farms would be limited to just the first £1 million of combined agricultural and business ownership.
Under the changes, landowners will pay a 20% tax rate on anything above that.
But critics have warned the move will have a devastating impact on the future of farming businesses, forcing many to sell land and reducing the viability of their businesses, as well as making Britain more dependent on imports.
Ministers have insisted that only around a quarter of farmers – the largest landowners – will be affected.
The Daily Express is campaigning for a reversal of the controversial changes.