Farmers’ protest live: Jeremy Clarkson warns inheritance tax ‘the end’ for farmers as thousands march in fury
Farmers from across the country have travelled to London this morning to join protests over changes to inheritance tax rules
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Your support makes all the difference.Jeremy Clarkson has urged the Labour government to “please back down” as he warned that the proposed inheritance tax hikes could be “the end” for farmers.
He has joined farmers for a large-scale protest in London on Tuesday to urge the government to change course over its plans, which have been described as a “stab in the back”.
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.
NFU president Tom Bradshaw said an estimated 75 per cent of commercial farm businesses “were caught in the eye of this storm” of a policy which will “rip the heart of family farms”.
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.
In pictures: Tory leader Kemi Badenoch joins protest outside Westminster
NFU president urges government to get to ‘logical position'
NFU president Tom Bradshaw says 75 per cent of working farms will be caught within the scope of the change in inheritance tax.
He urges the government not to waste political energy on a policy that “will rip the rug under the very people who will deliver food security”,
“Let’s start from scratch and get to a logical position”, he urges the government.
Met deny ‘tractor ban’
The Metropolitan Police have denied that they tried to ban tractors from the event. A spokesperson said: “We are aware of speculation online that we have tried to ban tractors from the event. This isn’t true — we’ve policed protests involving tractors previously without any major issues and we have plans in place to do so again if required.”
Officers have had “positive discussions” with organisers and are “well-prepared for the protest”, the spokesperson added.
“We will have officers deployed in the vicinity to ensure the event takes place safely, lawfully and in a way that prevents serious disruption.”
Watch: Tractors arrive in Westminster ahead of protests
150 MPs in attendance at Church House to answer to angry farmers
Around 150 members of parliament from across all parties are expected to attend Church House in Westminster to answer to angry famers over the government’s decision to extend inheritance tax to agricultural properties, the National Farmers’ Union estimates.
The union, led by Essex arable farmer Tom Bradshaw, is hosting a mass lobby event on Tuesday morning, with more than 1,000 members showing up to explain the impact of the “tractor tax” on their livelihoods.
NFU sources told The Independent that their most up to date estimate is that around 150 MPs will be in attendance throughout the morning, but they stressed the actual figure could be higher than that.
How out of pocket will farmers actually be?
Farmers are preparing for their biggest protest so far over the government’s proposals to include them in inheritance tax, as they prepare to gather in Westminster on Tuesday.
In the weeks since chancellor Rachel Reeves’s announcement, farmers and their representatives have been lobbying hard to have the inheritance tax decision overturned.
The government wants farmers to pay the tax on assets above £1m apiece at a new rate of 20 per cent.
Read the full analysis here:
Inheritance tax: How out of pocket will farmers actually be?
The government wants farmers to pay the tax on assets above £1m apiece at a new rate of 20 per cent
NFU president describes policy change as ‘stab in the back’
National Farmers’ Union president Tom Bradshaw told members gathered for a mass lobby of their MPs over the changes to inheritance tax for farming businesses that the policy “will rip the heart of family farms”.
Mr Bradshaw received a standing ovation from the gathered farmers after his impassioned speech, in which he said an estimated 75 per cent of commercial farm businesses “were caught in the eye of this storm” of a policy which he described as a “stab in the back”.
He warned the inheritance tax change was the straw that broke the camel’s back, along with a host of issues in the Budget, and said: “The impact for retail prices and shelf prices is going to have to be dramatic. It’s an inflationary budget for food production and you in this group have nothing left to give.
“It’s been nothing but a bad Budget and I’ve never seen anything like it in my lifetime.”
He urged NFU members to join the rally organised by other farmers in Westminster to show politicians a united front by the sector.
Interview with young farmer helping with food donations at protest
Starmer warned Labour faces wipeout of rural MPs in farm tax backlash ahead of protest
Labour faces a wipeout of rural MPs, Sir Keir Starmer has been warned, as tens of thousands of farmers prepare to march on London in protest over the government’s Budget changes to inheritance tax.
The party’s landslide election victory saw Labour MPs elected across 114 rural constituencies.
But Labour peer Baroness Ann Mallalieu has told The Independent that chancellor Rachel Reeves’s measure to abolish inheritance tax exemptions for some farms has caused uproar, with her party facing angry claims of betrayal among farmers and rural campaigners.
Read the full article here:
Starmer warned Labour faces rural MPs wipeout in farm tax backlash ahead of protest
Exclusive: As tens of thousands of farmers prepare to march on London in protest over inheritance tax measures, Labour Baroness Ann Mallalieu issues a stark warning to the prime minister
Toy tractors pictured in Westminster
Toy tractors have been seen ready to lead the protest through Westminster, a scaled down version after organisers deterred farmers from bringing their own to London.
“Their not as big as the French tractors but hopefully they get the message”, one farmer says. “That’s the idea anyway”.
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