As Shadow Cabinet Minister responsible for rural affairs, I had the opportunity to question Labour’s Cabinet Secretary for Rural affairs as well as speak in a debate on the matter of Labour’s new tax hike on family farms.

Over the last year, thousands of farmers and members of rural communities have been making their voices heard like never before over the huge challenges being faced by the industry.

Last year, we saw the largest protest the Senedd has ever seen over the matter of the Sustainable Farming Scheme and even last week, famers took to the streets again in Westminster to voice their anger and frustration over the proposed family farm tax.

Farmers don’t want to be out on the streets, especially at a time when lambing and calving are under way and there is a lot of field work to do, but sadly, they protest out of sheer desperation and a genuine fear for the future of their families, their children and their grandchildren.

There has been a wide misconception going around that Agriculture Tax Relief was nothing more than a loophole. This could not be further from the truth.

Farmers across the United Kingdom may have valuable land but they barely make a profit in cash terms.

This inheritance tax relief was specifically put in place in order to prevent family farms from having to be sold or broken up and to ensure that farmers are able to keep farms within their families to pass them down to the next generation.

This is not some abstract or theoretical issues. These are real families trying to keep their livelihoods.

Last week, I visited a family dairy farm with three generations in their 80s, 60s and 30s. They were clearly scared that their farm would be devastated by any inheritance tax bill that could prove fatal for their business.

They had also stopped investing in their farm out of fear that their tax liability would rise.

We mustn’t forget that these family farms are the backbone of our rural communities and are vital for our economy, culture and environment and therefore must be protected.

The Welsh Conservatives have always pledged to support our family farms. We stand up for Welsh farmers and call on the UK Labour Government to abandon this tax hike, and to instead ensure they support our rural communities.