Whether a single critical event, like next week's Budget should be a defining 鈥榤ake or break' moment for Labour's farming reset, is something I have been deliberating in my head since Andy Burnham came into power back in the summer.
Yes, the Budget is important, but we cannot just view it through a single lens of a U-turn on the family farm tax. There are so many other critical pinch points which this financial statement needs to deliver for farming and rural communities.
Chancellor's Autumn Budget
Will the Chancellor John Healey extend fuel duty relief? Will he increase the annual investment allowance from 拢1 million to 拢5 million, and will that include farm buildings and reservoirs? Will this Government continue to protect the national insurance exemptions for working pensioners? There are lots of things at stake here, not just one single policy.
But as we know, the family farm tax is the one policy that could truly threaten generational continuity on farms and our national food security going forward.
When I spoke to Mr Burnham back in the summer, he told me he 鈥榰nderstood completely' that farming families needed to see how their farm can be passed on through the generations and that food and farming is part of the country's national resilience.
Well in just a few days we will know just how hard he was listening.
