VIEWERS of Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday will have noticed that some MPs were wearing heads of wheat on their lapels.
Lillian Jones, the Scottish Labour MP, asked the first question at Wednesday’s PMQs, and was one of the parliamentarians with wheat on their lapel.
The reason for the badge is a campaign to support farmers.
The National Farmers Union (NFU) is holding its annual “Back British Farming Day” on September 9.
The NFU explains: “Launched back in 2016, the day provides an opportunity for politicians and the public to show their support for our farmers and growers, and the work they do 365 days a year to feed the nation and care for our iconic countryside.
“This year the campaign comes at a critical time for British farming, with the NFU urging government to recognise the sector's contribution to food security, economic growth and environmental delivery.”
“As in previous years, we'll be asking supportive MPs to wear our iconic wheatsheaf pin badge during Prime Minister Questions,” the NFU adds.
Neither Prime Minister Andy Burnham nor Tory leader Kemi Badenoch were among the MPs to wear the wheat badge.
LibDem leader Ed Davey also did not wear wheat, but did raise Back British Farming Day with the Prime Minister, asking him to lift the "family farm tax".
The “family farm tax” refers to inheritance-tax reforms from April 2026, from which qualifying farm and business assets have been given 100% relief up to £2.5m per person.
The NFU opposes the tax, with the union's president Tom Bradshaw saying: “The changes to raise the tax threshold from £1m to £2.5m – which if combined with a spousal transfer take that to a potential £5m – has greatly reduced the tax burden for many family farms. It was a result many said wasn’t achievable.
“But I want to be clear – the NFU remains opposed to the policy. It remains the wrong approach. We know there are still farming families who could face a large tax bill."
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