Hats off to the thousands of farmers who marched through London to protest the impact of the Labour Budget. The national news agenda was dominated by the sight of welly boots on the ground, as farmers brought their voices and conviction to Westminster.

A strong contingent travelled from Scotland, with many more earmarking the rally at Holyrood on Thursday, November 28, as a must-attend event. While the London protest called for a U-turn on a botched budget, the Edinburgh rally aims to head disaster off at the pass. The SNP government must be left in no doubt about the catastrophic impact of cutting the rural Budget yet again. Additionally, a strong reminder of the missing millions from the Bew Review must be made at every opportunity.

Hopefully, the united political opposition to the Labour Budget will encourage the SNP not to impose any cuts on the rural portfolio and to return the £46.1 million owed.

Getting Labour in London to change their position will be a much harder task. Politically, Prime Minister Keir Starmer is unlikely to revisit his budget unless negative public opinion starts to impact core Labour voters. Let’s not forget that only 9.7m people voted for Labour in this year’s general election, with a vote share of 33.7%—the lowest of any majority party on record.

Taking a step back, the government must assess where they want to drive the rural economy. Who does the Labour government want to grow our food? Currently, our brilliant farming industry puts food on the table, looks after the countryside, and sustains the rural economy. Yet clearly, this is not valued by the current Westminster government.

If family farms are hammered, they will be driven out of business, only to be replaced by larger corporations that can afford to pay experts to manage their tax affairs, ensuring very little ends up in the public purse. If Rachel Reeves wants to increase Treasury revenues, perhaps she should look at multinational corporations that pay minimal tax on their profits, let alone on their assets—such as inheritance.

The irony of this government, which claims to stand for the working population, is that through its misjudged Budget, it risks driving family farms out of existence. These farms are likely to be replaced by large-scale investment conglomerates.

These globalised companies can move assets around the world, which, according to a recent study by the Tax Justice Network, costs countries nearly £400 billion in public revenue each year. Tragically, food production could fall into the hands of these corporations if the attack on family farming is not stopped.

Meanwhile, down in London the gloves are off politically, back on farms across Scotland they are very much back on. Our pleasant autumn has come to a sharp end as winter has arrived for most of the country. Winter routines will be starting in earnest as sheds fill up with livestock where the stock will be coming inside in good fettle. Further the winter crops will have established well in the autumn sunshine with a dry potato harvest for many.

Let’s hope Westminster and Holyrood start sowing the seeds of support for farmers before they’re left with nothing but a political crop failure. The only thing falling faster than the temperature is patience with those in power.