ER Editor: The latest in the ‘UK government is a disaster’ saga, which from 2026 is slapping a 20% inheritance tax on barely-surviving farmers with farms worth a million pounds or more. Another attack on the UK’s food source. Today, British farmers are descending on London. Some tweets —
UK: Tens of thousands of farmers are on their way to London to protest the government’s new 20% inheritance tax on farms, which will force countless farmers to sell their farms.
“There is a deep seated anger at these inheritance tax rules… [Farmers] believe that it could… pic.twitter.com/NQrIkhPg8o
— Wide Awake Media (@wideawake_media) November 19, 2024
UK: An estimated 40,000 farmers are currently en route to London, furious about the government’s new 20% inheritance tax on farms, which will leave countless farmers with no option but to sell their farms.
“Farmers will be liable for inheritance tax at 20% on farms worth more… pic.twitter.com/v7vbUaUlnO
— Wide Awake Media (@wideawake_media) November 19, 2024
🇬🇧 SUPPORT THE FARMERS!
UK is imposing a inheritance tax of 20% on farms, means that if you worked all your life on a farm with your dad and you inherit it after he passes … you need to likely sell the farm.
That’s how it works:
– A farm is worth 1,000,000
– After all costs… pic.twitter.com/1fQPVO7iMR
— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) November 19, 2024
In just 10 hours overnight then PM and relevant ministers have had 1500 emails demanding that the farmers’ tax be scrapped! pic.twitter.com/2PNf0St0ez
— June Slater (@juneslater17) November 19, 2024
“They have lied to us all along”
UK Farmer on Keir Starmer increasing taxation on farms, inc. imposing inheritance tax.
“Is today the start, or is today the end… There are a lot of angry farmers”
Where will the food come from?
No Farmers No Foodpic.twitter.com/UzhbBuvJyU
— Darren of Plymouth 🇬🇧 (@wolsned) November 19, 2024
Today @mikeukc and @briangukc are on their way to London to join the Farmers’ Rally, standing shoulder to shoulder with those who feed the nation. Farmers have always faced relentless pressure, and inheritance tax is a blatant theft of generational livelihoods, threatening… pic.twitter.com/Wkt9YerNIQ
— UK Column (@ukcolumn) November 19, 2024
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‘Betrayed’ farmers take protest to London
JENNY KUMAH and MALCOLM PRIOR for BBC
The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has accused the government of “betrayal” as thousands prepare to gather in London for a rally against the planned changes to inheritance tax rules for farms.
“To launch a policy this destructive without speaking to anyone involved in farming beggars belief,” NFU president Tom Bradshaw will say in his speech on Tuesday.
Getty Images
The recent Budget announcement means that previously-exempt farms worth more than £1m would have to pay an inheritance tax of 20% – half the usual rate of 40% – from April 2026.
“This budget has just ripped the heart out of us because I know my son will not be able to pay the inheritance tax,” Gloucestershire livestock farmer David Barton told the BBC.
Malcolm Prior/BBC
Co-organiser Clive Bailye said thousands of farmers had registered for the protest rally
The NFU has gathered 1,800 of its members in London for a mass lobby of MPs.
A larger event, which organisers say more than 10,000 people have registered for, is being held at Richmond Terrace, Whitehall, and is expected to be addressed by speakers, including the farmer and broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson.
Co-organiser of that rally Staffordshire farmer Clive Bailye told the BBC that it was set up to be a peaceful demonstration and had the public’s support.
But he warned, in the future, there could be more direct action-style protests by some farmers.
Malcolm Prior/BBC
Livestock farmer David Barton said he feared he would have to sell the farm to a wealthy investor
“They are at a point now where they have nothing to lose and they have got the infrastructure behind them to be able to cause a lot of problems,” he explained.
NFU president Tom Bradshaw said that while farmers felt “betrayed,” the union did not condone direct action such as withholding food from supermarkets.
Among those attending Tuesday’s events is Gloucestershire livestock farmer David Barton, who has a 265-acre farm near Cirencester that has been in his family since 1913.
Mr Barton estimates his 400-cattle business is worth around £5m and the proposed changes to inheritance tax could see his son facing a £800,000 bill.
“This budget has just ripped the heart out of us because I know my son will not be able to pay the inheritance tax,” he said.
He is now considering gifting his estate, which means it would fall outside of inheritance tax if he does not die within seven years, but feared he was not in a financial position to stop working.
Mr Barton said the government’s attempts to target the wealthiest landowners who were investing in farms to avoid inheritance tax could see small farms like his ultimately sold off.
“The people they probably want to target will end up with my farm. That’s the reality – someone with a lot of money will buy this farm,” he said.
“For ministers to stand up and say this is good for farmers like me, for agriculture, they are chucking petrol onto a rather hot fire at the moment.”
…
‘Fixing public services’
Shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins said Labour had delivered a “budget of broken promises” that was “killing British farming”.
“Farmers can be asset rich, but cash poor,” she told the BBC’s Today Programme.
“They are not in it for the money – it’s a 365 day responsibility.”
The government has previously estimated just 500 of the UK’s wealthiest landowners would be affected by the change – a figure the Liberal Democrats called “utter rubbish”.
“The only way that people can pay the inheritance is get rid of the farm – so corporates buy it,” the party’s environment, food and rural affairs spokesperson Tim Farron told BBC Breakfast.
“It’s cruel, it’s unfair, it’s also incredibly stupid”.
Featured image source, Keir Starmer: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2023/02/21/keir-starmer-claims-farming-dna-grew-home-counties/
Featured image source, poster: https://x.com/ukcolumn/status/1858541675582201957
Published to UK Reloaded from EuropeReloaded.com
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PETITION: Don’t change inheritance tax relief for working farms
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