Farmers’ protest – live: Thousands set to march on Westminster in fury over Starmer’s inheritance tax hike
‘Disillusioned’ farmers ‘feel they’ve nothing to lose’ after inheritance tax change, NFU warns
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Your support makes all the difference.Farmers are set to stage large-scale protests in London on Tuesday to urge the government to change course over its inheritance tax plans.
First unveiled in chancellor Rachel Reeves’s Budget, the plans to impose inheritance tax on farms worth more than £1m have sparked fury among rural communities, who have contested the government’s assertion that small family farms will not be impacted by the changes.
The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has organised an event in which 1,800 of its members will meet with local MPs at Westminster to voice their anger on Tuesday, as thousands are also separately expected to stage a demonstration in Whitehall.
Warning of “complete disillusionment and distrust” within the farming community, NFU president Tom Bradshaw – who was meeting with environment secretary Steve Reed on Monday evening – warned: “Farmers are cross, they're worried, they feel they've nothing to lose, I don't know where this ends.”
The government argues that tax exemptions have led to wealthy non-farmers seizing agricultural land and pricing out genuine young farmers, and point to Budget funding of £5bn to help farmers produce food.
Minister says food shortage plan in place as farmers threaten strike action over tax
A senior minister has revealed that plans are being put in place to deal with food shortages if farmers go ahead with their threat to strike over the controversial family farm tax.
In an interview with Sir Trevor Phillips on his Sunday morning show on Sky News, transport secretary Louise Haigh said the government would be “setting out” its contingency plans for the winter, as concerns mount over the furious backlash to a decision to apply inheritance tax to farms.
Our political editor David Maddox has more details:
Minister says food shortage plan in place as farmers threaten strike action over tax
Transport secretary Louise Haigh has said Whitehall already has plans in place to deal with empty supermarket shelves if farmers go on strike
Why do farmers say the changes are a problem?
According to the NFU, while farms may have a high nominal asset value – the value of their land and business assets – the returns from farming are often very low, so farming families may not have the reserves to pay for inheritance tax liabilities without selling off assets.
The NFU’s president Tom Bradshaw said the change had left elderly farmers in the “cruellest predicament”, as they may not live for another seven years to take advantage of exemptions for gifting assets, or to hand over assets in a way that qualifies for the gifting exemption.
He has also warned the changes could undermine investment as farmers will be wary of increasing the balance sheet as they will be liable to pay inheritance tax on it.
There are also concerns that it could affect tenant farmers if landowners no longer benefit from having a tax exemption for farmed land.
Mr Bradshaw said there was a feeling among farmers that the government did not understand food production.
Iconic tractor producer backs farmers in row over tax hike
One of the world’s most iconic rural brands has thrown its support behind farmers who have been left furious at the new changes to inheritance tax rules, saying it’s essential that we “look after the people who feed us”.
Ahead of a huge farmer protest expected in London on Tuesday in what is already being dubbed “rural England’s revolution”, French-based tractor producer Massey Ferguson, a subsidiary of US-based AGCO, has become the first international manufacturing firm to weigh into the debate that kicked off in the wake of Labour’s first Budget.
Massey Ferguson’s UK, Ireland and Middle East sales promotion manager Lindsay Haddon agreed the company “of course” held concerns about the impact of the new tax on farmers.
“Our business and our brand, and that of our dealer network relies heavily on our customers [farmers] to flourish and continue to be able to grow their businesses without fear of persecution or added red tape,” Ms Haddon said in a written statement to The Independent.
Angus Thompson and David Maddox have the full report:
Iconic tractor producer backs farmers in row over tax hike
Farmers say the inheritance tax raid in Rachel Reeves’s Budget will lead to the closure of family-run businesses
Protest relocated from Trafalgar Square
The organisers of the protest have had to relocate tomorrow’s demonstration in Westminster because Trafalgar Square is not big enough to contain the number of people who plan to attend, The Independent revealed last week.
The protest, due to take place on 19 November, is now expected to easily exceed the original 5,000 to 10,000 estimated by the Farming Forum which is organising it.
Those taking part have been asked to start gathering in Richmond Terrace, by Victoria Embankment Gardens, from 11am.
The march will be led by farmers’ children on toy tractors “signifying the impact of the devastating Budget on the future of farming and the countryside”, say organisers.
Starmer doubles down on ‘tractor tax’ claim ahead of huge protest
Sir Keir Starmer has doubled down on his claim that the “vast majority of farms and farmers” will be unaffected by changes to inheritance tax announced in the Budget ahead of a major demonstration over the tax hike on Tuesday.
Asked whether he accepted that farmers feel betrayed, Sir Keir said: “I think it is very important that we support farmers. That’s why we’ve put £5bn in the Budget for the next two years into farming.
“That is not to be overlooked”, he said, and also pointed to other cash that has been set aside in relation to flooding and disease outbreaks. He added: “Obviously, there’s an issue around inheritance tax and I do understand the concern.
“But for a typical case, which is parents with a farm they want to pass on to one of their children, by the time you’ve taken into account not only the exemption for the farm property itself, but also the exemption for spouse to spouse, then parent to child, it’s £3m before any inheritance tax will be payable.
“That’s why I am absolutely confident the vast majority of farms and farmers will not be affected by this.”
Our political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:
Starmer doubles down on ‘tractor tax’ claim ahead of huge protest
Critics claim new tax grab will destroy family farms, which make up around two-thirds of Britain’s agricultural base
Watch: Farmer predicts serious food shortages
How many farmers will be affected by the inheritance tax changes?
Labour says three-quarters of estates will not be affected by the upcoming changes, but campaigners have taken issue with this, reports my colleague Albert Toth.
According to Treasury analysis, around 500 estates will be impacted by the changes, with just the top 7 per cent of claims accounting for 40 per cent of the total value of the relief fund.
A release from the department adds: “It is not fair for a very small number of claimants each year to claim such a significant amount of relief, when this money could better be used to fund our public services.”
However, the Country Land and Business Association has said it is closer to 70,000 farms that will be affected. The new measure will mean “damaging family businesses and destabilising food security,” they add.
Economists have said this figure is slightly misleading. The 70,000 number does not reflect how many estates will have to pay inheritance tax each year, but rather how many are could be valued at over £1m today.
Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) says: “The changes will affect a remarkably small number of some of the most valuable farms.”
Small farmers not helped by tax breaks for wealthy investors, says campaigner
Campaigner and author Guy Shrubsole has highlighted the inequality of land ownership in England, with 18 per cent of land owned by corporations and a further 17 per cent by oligarchs and bankers.
And he said data from the Environment Department showed just 2,500 of the largest farms owned a quarter of England’s land, while 59 per cent of farms were less than 50 hectares.
Mr Shrubsole said: “Small farmers deserve all of our support – and they’re not helped by giving tax breaks to wealthy investors who’ve been snapping up farmland as a handy tax shelter, inflating the price of land and starving public services of cash.”
Farms exemption is ‘most effective way for super-rich to avoid tax’, says minister
Ahead of the protests, environment secretary Steve Reed defended the changes as “fair and balanced”, saying it would only affect 500 estates a year and small family farms would not be hit.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Reed said exemptions for agricultural land had led to wealthy individuals from non-farming backgrounds buying up land to avoid paying inheritance.
That had forced up rural land prices, “robbing young farmers of the dream of owning their own farm”.
And he said: “It’s become the most effective way for the super-rich to avoid paying their inheritance tax – and it’s costing other taxpayers a whopping £200m.”
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