Deputy First Minister says government's approach to 'farm tax' will be test of its willingness to listen to devolved leaders

The DUP’s Emma Little-Pengelly said it will show whether it listens to concerns flagged by the devolved nations.

The Lagan Valley MLA said she raised issues around changes to inheritance tax on agricultural properties and the increase to employer national insurance contributions during the British Irish Council meeting, which involved the Prime Minister and the leaders of all the devolved administrations.

“The key test for this Government will be, will they listen to us?” she said.

“Will they listen to the many, many thousands of farmers from across the United Kingdom and their concern about agricultural relief? Will they listen to the thousands and thousands of businesses across the United Kingdom, across Northern Ireland, concerned about national insurance contributions?

“I think that’s the test for this Government. We raised that today with them, and we’ll see what happens.”

First minister Michelle O’Neill complained that “the tenure of the Tories in government was one of disrespect, one that drove an austerity agenda that decimated our public services, one that very much left people behind.”

With Labour having worked to improve relationships with the devolved governments, Ms O’Neill added: “I welcome the fact that there is a determination for a reset.”

While she added it is “early days” and that relationships will be “tested of course over time”, the Sinn Fein politician added she believes there is a “genuine willingness” to work between the parties.

The Scottish First Minister John Swinney said afterwards he had “made no secret of the fact that relationships between the Scottish Government and the United Kingdom Government today are incomparably better than they were immediately before the general election”.

He said the relationship with the last government was awful and they “could not have been more disrespectful”.