Efra Chair Alistair Carmichael: 'If there was a silver bullet [in the Inheritance Tax battle], I would find it and I would fire it’

The farmer and Liberal Democrat MP discusses Defra and why, despite current policies, he does not believe Labour ministers Daniel Zeichner and Steve Reed set out to harm farming. Instead, he says the problem lies with the Treasury and that while the campaign to reverse or amend the family farm tax may be long, farmers must keep campaigning. "When it comes to going the ‘full French" I would say keeping public opinion on our side is very important and I would be really anxious about anything which risked alienating the rest of the public... The Government has pushed us into a corner and we have to keep pushing back. "I do not think there is a silver bullet in this. But I think the thing we do have is an advantage in this battle is the length of it. We will not be voting until October/November on this and that is a long time for any government to double down. "We have to just keep fighting and keep doing, and keep doing it again after that. If there was a silver bullet here, I would find it and I would fire it." Message us