The meetings coincided with an NFU Summer Reception in Westminster where the union met with more than 80 MPs, Peers and PCCs (Police and Crime Commissioners) who gathered to hear directly from members and NFU Mutual representatives about the issues affecting their local area.
Topics of discussion
Mr Jones said: "I’ve had a constructive and intense couple of days in London and I am grateful for the opportunity I had to meet with a number of Welsh MPs, and to speak to them about a number of issues which rest with UK Government, first and foremost proposed inheritance tax changes due to take effect from April 2026.
"Since the UK Government’s announcement on inheritance tax in last Autumn’s budget, NFU Cymru has worked tireless engaging and lobbying MPs and explaining to them why we consider the policy proposals to be so damaging to the sector.
"That work is set to continue and intensify throughout the summer months and into the Autumn as we continue to maintain the pressure on the UK Government to look again at this policy. It has been really useful to meet with so many Welsh MPs here in Westminster, and I am grateful to them for listening to our concerns, I hope that they can now relay these important messages to their colleagues in government."
Bluetongue
MPs also heard from Aled about the sector's concerns about Bluetongue and the cost and practicality of the Welsh Government controls coming into effect in Wales from 1 July 2025, and the serious implications these have for the movement of livestock between England and Wales.
With NFU Mutual also launching its 2025 Rural Crime Report in Parliament, NFU Cymru was also keen to speak to MPs about the impact of offending in the countryside which has become increasingly organised, serious and persistent in nature, with the most recent figures from the NFU Mutual showing an 18% cost increase for rural crime in Wales. Mr Jones welcomed some of the steps taken by government to address the issue including the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act to hare coursing reforms, as well as Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Amendments Bill now moving through Parliament, adding that he hoped that these legislative changes will help drive down incidence.
As part of the union’s ongoing lobbying work around a number of issues, including the government’s proposed inheritance tax changes, NFU Cymru staff and officeholders will also be joining the parties at their conferences over the course of the next few weeks and months, starting with the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno at the end of next week.
