“The government must review its plans and be able to make a clear distinction between land purchase speculators and family farms.”

The party joins the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in opposing the project. The government has remained firm since the announcement of the measure in last month’s budget.

After Mr Zeichner’s remarks, a minister appeared to distance himself from his comments, saying the government appreciated “the hard work of farmers”.

Louise Haigh, the Transport Secretarytold Trevor Phillips on Sky News: “I have people in my own circle of family and friends who work extraordinarily hard in farming and as a result earn very little.