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.
Key Points
- Full report: Farmers set to protest over ‘unacceptable’ inheritance tax changes
- Why are farm owners demonstrating over inheritance tax?
- 165 MPs meeting NFU members at mass lobby
- Labour has destroyed ‘contract’ between farmers and government
How out of pocket will farmers actually be?
10:09 , Holly EvansFarmers 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?
NFU president describes policy change as ‘stab in the back’
10:06 , Holly EvansNational 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
09:56 , Holly EvansStarmer warned Labour faces wipeout of rural MPs in farm tax backlash ahead of protest
09:51 , Holly EvansLabour 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
Toy tractors pictured in Westminster
09:50 , Holly EvansToy 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”.
Traffic holds up farmers
09:44 , Holly EvansWe left Cirencester at 5.30am, and just passing Buckingham Palace now, around 10 minutes from our destination of Tothill Street, which is a five minute walk from Church House; the meeting point for the mass lobby.
“Almost there,” says Chris Farr, NFU Gloucestershire county adviser, who tells farmers on board to stick together when getting off to avoid anyone getting lost.
Members have been individually briefed ahead of meeting MPs at the mass lobby shortly.
What’s happening in London today?
09:36 , Holly EvansThousands of farmers are heading to London on November 19 to demonstrate against Labour’s upcoming changes to how agricultural property is taxed.
Two separate events are due to take place in central London on what promises to be a lively day.
The largest is an independent rally organised by several high-profile farmers. The group has not revealed how many have registered their interest, but it is estimated that between 10,000 and 40,000 people will attend.
The organisers include farmers Clive Bailye, Olly Harrison, Martin Williams, Andrew Ward and James Mills, several of whom have been sharing details their social media channels.
Mr Harrison told his 120,000 followers that the rally is “all about landing the message that farmers produce the nation’s food and we cannot afford this ludicrous inheritance tax change.”
Those who are interested in attending are being asked to gather at Richmond Terrace in Whitehall from 11am. There will then be a short procession to Parliament Square which will return to the start location.
Organisers say that a “number of children on toy tractors” will lead the procession, desinged to highlight “the impact of the devastating budget on the future of farming and the countryside.”
The rally will end with addresses from several speakers including National Farmers’ Union (NFU) president, Tom Bradshaw. TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson – an outspoken farm owner himself – is also expected to make an appearance.
The event complements a ‘mass lobby,’ which was arranged first, organised by the NFU. This is not a protest or march, but will bring together thousands of farmers with MPs at Church House in Westminster, just a 10 minute walk from the rally.
What NFU members will tell MPs at mass lobby
09:30 , Alex RossCoach-loads of farmers are arriving in London this morning to speak to MPs on Labour’s Budget as part of a mass lobby.
I’ve seen the briefing to members which lays out the “key messages”.
They are:
- HM Treasury is working from the wrong figures - this is based on calculations by The Treasury that less than 500 farms will be impacted by the change inheritance tax for farmers each year.
- Food security is national security - NFU says the change will mean farmers will need to sell off land which they say will reduce food production across the UK.
- APR (agricultural property relief) is not a loophole - the NFU says it protects family farms from being sold and broken up.
NFU statement on wider protest
09:26 , Alex RossAs pictures emerge of tractors arriving in Westminster ahead of a wider protest by farmers, the NFU, which is holding its own mass lobby of MPs, has issued a statement.
It read: “We are aware of the rally being planned. It’s not surprising with so many farmers up and down the country keen to ensure their voices heard and we wish them well in that.
“While some NFU members are likely to attend, there will also be non-NFU members there, and the NFU is not organising it.”
Possibility farmers will strike over inheritance tax changes
09:24 , Holly EvansA fourth-generation family farmer said there is a possibility he and other farmers will strike if changes to agricultural property relief are not reversed.
Richard Wainwright, 58, from Halifax, West Yorkshire, was at Church House Conference Centre in central London on Tuesday morning ahead of a meeting with the National Farmers’ Union (NFU).
Mr Wainwright, whose grandfather began farming with a few cows and delivered milk to the surrounding area, said: “We are talking about possibly striking. I hope it doesn’t come to that because that’s seriously going to impact the food chain.”
On the impact on his farm, he said: “We’ve got to possibly sell a 20% share of the farmland to be able to cover the tax bill. For us it’s around £600,000 we are going to have to pay.
“It’s like I’m going to have to buy my own farm back.”
Reeves says farmers must help fund NHS as she refuses to back down ahead of mass protest
09:16 , Holly EvansRachel Reeves has refused to back down over the planned extension of inheritance tax to agricultural properties, telling farmers they must pay their share to fund public services including the NHS.
Her remarks come despite thousands of farmers descend on London for a major protest on Tuesday, held alongside a mass lobby of MPs in Westminster where National Farmers’ Union (NFU) president Tom Bradshaw is expected to say that the betrayal on the tax changes is extraordinary.
The union chief will warn that farms producing the country’s food will need to be broken up and sold as a result of the policy, “because farmers simply won’t have the money to pay this tax any other way”.
Read the full article here:
Reeves says farmers must help fund NHS ahead of mass protest
Met police issue statement ahead of wider protes
09:13 , Holly EvansA Met Police spokesperson said: “We have had positive discussions with the protest organisers who have confirmed their event will begin at Richmond Terrace, off Whitehall, at 11am on Tuesday.
“There will be speeches, before a procession to nearby Parliament Square.
“We will have officers deployed in the vicinity to ensure the event takes place safely, lawfully and in a way that prevents serious disruption.”
'Farmers already lumbered with debts'
09:12 , Alex RossAt the back of the NFU coach is Karen Cox, who runs a 580-acre arable farm with her husband James near Tetbury.
She makes the point that many farmers are already dealing with the cost of succession without inheritance tax.
She has had to remortgage most of their land to pay her sister £3m after their father died in 2019.
The loan from the bank means they are repaying £125k to the bank each year.
“The farm is already lumbered with debts, changing this to inheritance tax will only make it even hard for the next generation,” she says. She’s calculated the impact of the Budget on her farm, and has a handwritten letter to show to her MP at the mass lobby.
'It feels like a betrayal'
09:05 , Alex RossHelping run today’s events for the NFU is Chris Farr, the union’s Gloucestershire county advisor.
He says the announced change to inheritance tax came as “complete shock”.
“Having had assurances from Steve Reed [farming minister] and Keir Starmer that APR [agricultural property relief] wasn’t going to be changed, we were all taken back.
“It has led to a massive level of concern, anger and disappointment - it feels like a betrayal.”
He said the NFU’s aim of the mass lobby was to get MPs “to understand the reality of what they have planned will mean for the countryside”.
“This is not about haranguing the MPs, it is about helping them understand what this means for the family farm.”
In pictures: Tractors descend on Westminster ahead of farmer protest
09:00 , Holly Evans
Farming industry treated with ‘contempt’ by Steve Reed, says NFU president
08:52 , Holly EvansEnvironment Secretary Steve Reed has treated the farming industry with “contempt”, the president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) said.
Tom Bradshaw told LBC: “The way he’s treated the industry with contempt in what he’s been writing has landed very, very badly.”
Of the meeting he had with Mr Reed on Monday, the union president said: “I hope the Secretary of State was listening, I hope the Government are listening, I want to sit down with the Chancellor and sort this mess out.”
Asked about how many farmers will be affected by the changes to inheritance tax, Mr Bradshaw said: “There’s huge mistrust in the numbers, even Defra and the Treasury can’t agree on the number.
“Our numbers suggest that 75 per cent of commercial farms, those farms producing this country’s food, are caught in the eye of this storm.”
On the seven-year gifting rule, Mr Bradshaw said the farmers in the “twilight of their careers” who may not expect to live for that amount of time “have been cut off at the knees”.
‘The tractor tax means we’re sleepwalking into food shortages’
08:45 , Holly EvansWhen I was growing up in rural Lincolnshire, I remember my best friend’s dad would always use a certain saying. They lived right out in the fenland – among fields carpeted with cabbage and cauliflower, and giant skies that dwarfed the flat horizon. “You can’t catch old birds with chaff,” he’d warn. The sentiment is that the wise could not be easily fooled. The chaff – worthless husks of corn – would not suffice to convince the astute of a weak idea.
The phrase has come to mind a lot recently as family farms come under threat of the newly proposed tractor tax. Since the Budget, when Labour announced that there would be a 20 per cent tax hike on inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1m, the countryside has been alight with fury.
Keir Starmer insists that the tax is there to catch any farmers buying up land to avoid inheritance tax and no one else – that only the “wealthiest 500 estates each year with smaller farms not affected”. The birds are not convinced.
Zoë Beaty talks to farmers who tell her of an industry in crisis:
‘The tractor tax means we’re sleepwalking into food shortages’
Do you support the ‘tractor tax’ on inherited farms?
08:42 , Holly EvansThe government’s proposed inheritance tax hike on farms has sparked a fierce debate between those who see it as a necessary fiscal reform and those who warn it could devastate family farming and the rural economy.
Critics, including the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), warn that this policy could jeopardise family farms, which make up approximately two-thirds of Britain’s agricultural base.
Now we want to know what you think. Is the ‘tractor tax’ a fair approach to reform inheritance tax, or does it risk dismantling the fabric of family farming?
Share your thoughts here — we’ll highlight the best responses as they come in.
165 MPs meeting NFU members at mass lobby
08:38 , Alex RossWhile there is a wider protest taking place from 11am, the NFU is concentrating on a mass lobby event taking place from 9am.
It will see 1,800 members meeting MPs across several locations, including Portcullis House.
They will use the opportunity to share their concerns over Labour’s decision to change inheritance tax rules on farmers.
Speaking to officials on a bus from the West Country this morning, I understand around 165 MPs have agreed to meet members. Those who have not accepted an invitation will be sent ‘green cards’ to come down to meet constituents.
Among those believed to be meeting NFU members is Labour’s MP for Forest of Dean, Matt Bishop.
Yesterday, Mr Bishop, who won his seat with a majority of fewer than 300 votes, said: “We have had to make difficult decisions to navigate the significant financial pressures inherited from the previous government, but I want to reassure my constituents that my focus on farming and rural issues remains unwavering.”
‘Catastrophic’ inheritance tax will impact nation’s food security
08:30 , Holly EvansChanges to inheritance tax paid by farmers are “catastrophic” for the agricultural sector, a farmer has said.
Thousands of farmers are descending on the capital to protest against planned changes to agricultural property relief.
Farmers are arriving at Church House Conference Centre where NFU members are meeting on Tuesday morning.
Tom Walton, a farmer from Buckinghamshire, said: “My motivation is to try and engage with the Government to make them understand why the changes that they’ve made in the Budget are so catastrophic for the agricultural sector and the nation’s food security in general.
“This is likely to be the first of many engagements that we have with the Government. If today is successful, then that’s terrific, and if not then we will continue to apply pressure.”
NFU president warns tax changes could affect food security
08:23 , Holly EvansThe president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has said farmers will continue to push back until the Government scraps agricultural inheritance tax changes.
He told Sky News: “This will carry on. They cannot have a policy in place which has such disastrous human impacts and think we’re going to go quiet.
“We don’t know what’s next, but I know the membership have never been so united in trying to overturn something in the time that I’ve been farming.”
Asked if farmers will continue on this path until the Government changes its mind, Mr Bradshaw said: “Absolutely.”
The NFU president also warned the tax changes could affect the country’s food security.
He told the broadcaster: “Up until now, any cash which is being generated from a farm business has been reinvested to deliver food production tomorrow, to deliver the food security that Sir Keir Starmer says this country needs.
“But, now, instead of reinvesting in food production it’s going to go into our pensions and into life insurance rather than investing in the very infrastructure that delivers the food security this country needs.”
Why are farm owners demonstrating over inheritance tax?
08:18 , Holly EvansThousands of farmers are expected to protest near Westminster tomorrow to express their anger at changes put forward in Labour’s October Budget.
As many as 40,000 people are estimated to attend the event, forcing police and organisers to move the location from Trafalgar Square last-minute.
They will be gathering to protest Labour’s announced changes to inheritance tax (IHT) which will change how agricultural assets are taxed.
Read our full explainer here:
Farmers’ protest: Why are farm owners demonstrating over inheritance tax?
‘Why would my son want to take on my farm?'
08:17 , Alex RossAmong those on the coach heading to London for the NFU-arranged mass lobby of MPs is Tom Allen-Stevens, who runs a 370-acre farm near Oxford.
His farm, he says, is worth £5m, and his four children would be facing a £1m levy under the changes to inheritance tax.
Just this year, he had started discussions with his eldest son, who is a farm manager in Hertfordshire, on succession of the farm.
“Why on earth would he leave a well-paid farm job for a farm he’d be immediately slapped with a £1m tax to pay,” he says.
“If I was in his shoes I would find it a very difficult decision to make.”
Mr Allen-Stevens say his arable farm makes around £20k a year, and he runs a farm innovation network alongside it.
He also claims Labour has stalled on several innovation schemes since taking to government.
“It seems to me that they want to get tax from the farmers, but are not prepared to invest in growth or innovation.”
Shadow environment secretary condemns ‘economically illiterate’ taxes
08:13 , Holly EvansShadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins has condemned the Government’s “economically illiterate” approach to tax.
She told GB News: “If any of us care about our countryside, if we want to see the picturesque views that we have – across my home county of Lincolnshire, but (also) across the country – if we care about the quality of our crops, if we care about animal welfare, then family farming in the United Kingdom is critical to achieving all of these aims.
“And this claim that Labour has come up with today to try and divert attention away from the march, that somehow this inheritance tax and this rise in national insurance is to pay for the NHS, is economically illiterate.
“Because, as we know, this is going to raise a fraction of what, in fact, we put into the NHS and are proud to do so.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Environment Secretary Steve Reed have said the reduction in inheritance tax relief offered to farmers would “ensure that wealthier estates and the most valuable farms pay their fair share to invest in our schools and health services”.
Labour has destroyed ‘contract’ between farmers and government, NFU president says
08:04 , Tom BarnesLabour has “destroyed” a “contract” between farming and the government dating back to the Second World War with its changes to inheritance tax, the president of the National Famers’ Union (NFU) has said.
Tom Bradshaw told Sky News: “There’s always been an understanding, a contract, between farming and society, farming and the government, ever since the Second World War, and this Labour Government have just destroyed that contract with the changes they proposed to the inheritance tax.”
He said NFU members are “asset-rich but cash-poor”.
“We’d love to pay more tax,” Mr Bradshaw continued. “If we get proper margins from food production, and we end up swelling the Treasury coffers, bring it on.
“But at the moment the supply chain doesn’t give us those returns that enables us to save the money to pay the inheritance tax that this Government now wants to take.”
He added that Environment Secretary Steve Reed said when he was in opposition that the Government would not change agricultural property relief.
“This industry has been betrayed,” Mr Bradshaw went on. “They said they wouldn’t make this change and suddenly they’ve gone ahead and done it.”
NFU is focused on mass lobby
07:20 , Alex RossNFU is putting on coaches for farmers to attend a mass lobby at Church House from 9am.
It will see 1,800 registered members engage with their MPs in a series of meetings where they will aim to get their opposition across on the changes in inheritance tax.
The NFU is also aware of the larger protest taking place from 10am from Richmond Terrace, with president Tom Bradshaw expected to give a speech.
“Our focus for the 19th November remainson supporting our members by holding a mass lobby so they can meet their MPs to stop the family farm tax that stands to cause so much harm to British farming as we know it,” a spokesperson said.
Watch: Farmer predicts serious food shortages
07:00 , Andy Gregory‘Day of all days'
06:40 , Alex RossWe’re 15 minutes into our journey from Cirencester to London, via a stop at Wantage, when Chris Farr, NFU Gloucestershire county adviser, issues the first rallying call of the day.
Standing between the seats on the half-full coach, Mr Farr said: “As President Eisenhower said on D-Day, this is the day of all days.”
He tells farmers attending the mass lobby that it’s important for everyone to have their say.
“This is incredible personal,” he says. “It is different for everyone, those with big or small farms, we all have a story, and we need them to listen to us.”
Farmers on their way to London
06:12 , Alex RossI’m on board a coach taking around 20 farmers from Cirencester to head to London for a mass lobby aimed at reversing a government decision to introduce inheritance tax for some farms.
The coach is one of five put on by the NFU in the southern region, with groups also leaving from Exeter and Dorchester.
It’s an early start but the coach is full of chatter ahead of today’s action.
‘Complete disillusionment and distrust’ among farmers, NFU president warns
06:00 , Andy GregoryNFU president Tom Bradshaw said the union’s mass lobby at Westminster will aim to get MPs to push the government to reverse the changes, which had left older farmers in particular in the “cruellest of predicaments”, unable, for example, to take advantage of the seven-year exemption for gifting assets.
Speaking ahead of the event in which three groups of 600 NFU members will have the opportunity to speak to MPs in Westminster, he said: “It’s absolutely unacceptable, the human impact of this, the pressures they have put on these people who have given everything to this country.”
The NFU president added: “There’s a complete disillusionment and distrust, and feeling of betrayal, that [the government] doesn’t understand food production or even want to understand food production.
“Farmers are cross, they’re worried, they feel they’ve nothing to lose, I don’t know where this ends,” he said, adding it was within the power of the government to take the next step.
"I don't believe the Government have any choice but to rethink this policy," he said.
Rally organiser accuses government of ‘not knowing their own figures'
05:00 , Andy GregoryOlly Harrison, one of the organisers of the rally in London, said of the government: “They don’t know their own figures, they have not done any homework whatsoever.
“It’s embarrassing for them, how little research they’ve done on this before they brought it in.”
He warned the move could destroy UK food production, with family businesses in food processing and retailing, as well as farming, at risk from the changes.
Tuesday’s rally aims to show “this is what we do, this is what we produce, this is whose future is being taken away”, said Mr Harrison.
Environment secretary insists ‘tractor tax’ will only impact minority
04:00 , Andy GregoryEnvironment secretary Steve Reed has hit back following a storm of criticism over the government’s plans to extend inheritance tax to family farms, claiming the “vast majority of farmers will not be affected at all”.
He blamed “misleading headlines” for the backlash to the tax, saying “only the richest estates” will be affected.
Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Mr Reed said the government has taken a “fair and balanced approach that protects family farms while also fixing the public services those same families rely on”.
Our political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:
Environment secretary hits back amid storm of criticism over ‘tractor tax’
Northern Ireland MPs plead with ministers to rethink farming tax plans
03:00 , PANorthern Ireland’s MPs and peers have united in a plea to the government to rethink planned changes to inheritance tax for farmers.
In a letter to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, DUP MP Carla Lockhart warned it could threaten the generational transfer of farms, disrupt rural communities and undermine the long-term security of the agricultural sector.
The Stormont Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs has estimated that around a third of farms in Northern Ireland will be affected.
It comes as farmers plan to take part in an Ulster Farmers’ Union rally in Lisburn, Co Antrim, on Monday evening.
No 10 refuses to be drawn after Elon Musk claims government ‘going full Stalin’ on farming tax
02:00 , Andy GregoryDowning Street has refused to be drawn into a row with Elon Musk, after the tech billionaire described the government as “going full Stalin” in its approach to farmers.
Asked for a response to Mr Musk’s criticisms, Downing Street said it would not “get into a back and forth on individual comments”.
A No 10 spokesperson said: “The responses I gave this morning continue to be the case: that we will continue to engage with the industry and explain how the process works, and it remains the case that we expect the vast majority to be unaffected by the changes.”
They would not be drawn into saying whether the government rejected Mr Musk’s premise, saying: “The prime minister’s own words are very clear in terms of the support that we have for farmers and their importance, and we will continue to communicate how the scheme works to provide that reassurance.”
Letters | For born farmers like us it’s not about the value of the land, it’s about the legacy
01:00 , Andy GregoryIn a letter to the editor, Linda Roberts from Culmington, in Shropshire, writes:
A lot of people wouldn’t get out of bed for the money we make. We’re born farmers. It isn’t about the value of the land; it is about legacy. When my Dad died in 2021, he believed that the farm would be passed to the next generation. His reward for a lifetime of hard work and investment would be the opportunity for his grandson and those beyond to continue and build.
In one sweeping statement, the chancellor has robbed my family, and many others, of that opportunity. The government has quoted facts and figures from HMRC but those figures do not show the reality of how family farming works, or the amounts of money involved. The thresholds are simply far too low.
For born farmers it’s not about the value of the land, but the legacy
Confusion over how many farms will be hit by controversial tractor tax
00:01 , Andy GregoryConfusion has broken out over how many farms will be affected by Rachel Reeves’ controversial changes to inheritance tax after new figures showed her claims of one in four may be wide of the mark.
Figures produced by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) have been interpreted by farmers’ groups to suggest that up to two thirds (66 per cent) of farms could be hit by the tax grab which critics claim will destroy Britain’s family farms.
This is in stark contrast to the 28 per cent that the Treasury had claimed with officials in the two departments understood to be at loggerheads over the chancellor’s shock announcement. But a source close to environment secretary Steve Reed has blamed the National Farmers Union (NFU) for confusing the issue with incorrect analysis of Defra figures.
Our political editor David Maddox has more in this report:
Confusion over how many farms hit by tractor tax after ‘staggering’ admission
Where will farming tax row end?
Monday 18 November 2024 23:01 , PAAt the moment there seems to be something of an impasse, with Sir Keir Starmer and his ministers sticking to their guns on the issue, and farmers insisting the planned tax changes must be reversed.
Farmers are taking to the streets for a rally, with thousands expected to turn out in Westminster on Tuesday to show their anger at what one of the organisers, Lincolnshire farmer Andrew Ward, described as a “spiteful Budget which threatens the very heart of the countryside”.
He said: “Food production, wildlife and generations that have built a business will suffer, and Labour have to realise just how many people will be affected.”
And ahead of the mass lobby of MPs by the NFU also taking place on Tuesday, NFU president Tom Bradshaw said: “I don’t believe the government have any choice but to rethink this policy”.
That shows no sign of happening yet, but the impact of Tuesday and any future protests is yet to be seen.
Farmers warn 75% of British food production will be hit by Reeves’s tax raid
Monday 18 November 2024 22:02 , Andy GregoryRachel Reeves’inheritance tax raid will hit three quarters of food produced by British farmers, industry chiefs have warned, as the government battles a growing backlash over its extension of death tax.
While the government has insisted that only a minority of farmers will be impacted, Tom Bradshaw, chief executive of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), said around “75 per cent of the total farmed area” would be subject to the extended death tax.
Farmers warn 75% of British food production will be hit by Reeves’s tax raid
Watch: Farmer accuses Starmer of 'fleeing like a rat to London hideout' after tax protest
Monday 18 November 2024 21:04 , Andy GregoryFarm incomes plummeted by 50% in a year, official figures reveal as fears grow over ‘tractor tax’
Monday 18 November 2024 20:10 , Andy GregoryFarm incomes plummeted by more than 50 per cent in just one year, official figures show, amid growing fears over the impact of the government’s “tractor tax”.
Average farm business incomes fell from £103,100 in 2022/23 to £45,300 in 2023/24, figures published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) show.
While the government said the fall in income “followed exceptional highs for some farm types in 2022/23”, in real terms, this is the lowest average farm incomes have been since 2015/16.
Our political correspondent Millie Cooke has the full report:
Farm incomes drop by 50%, figures reveal as ‘tractor tax’ fears grow
Editorial | Rachel Reeves’s flawed inheritance tax for farmers demands a rethink
Monday 18 November 2024 19:15 , Andy GregoryAfter revealing £40bn of tax rises on business and the better-off in last month’s Budget, Rachel Reeves could – just about – argue that “working people” had not been directly affected.
But anyone in the government who thought her decision to impose inheritance tax on some family farms would be without consequences needs to think again.
It is increasingly obvious that the chancellor was unwise to include farmers on her hit list by announcing that, from April 2026, agricultural estates worth more than £1m will face an effective 20 per cent rate of inheritance tax – half the usual 40 per cent rate.
Read The Independent’s full editorial here:
Rachel Reeves’s flawed inheritance tax for farmers demands a rethink
Minister says food shortage plan in place as farmers threaten strike action over tax
Monday 18 November 2024 18:22 , Andy GregoryA 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
Why do farmers say the changes are a problem?
Monday 18 November 2024 17:31 , PAAccording 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
Monday 18 November 2024 16:39 , Andy GregoryOne 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:
Protest relocated from Trafalgar Square
Monday 18 November 2024 16:35 , Millie Cooke, Political CorrespondentThe 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
Monday 18 November 2024 16:32 , Andy GregorySir 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
Watch: Farmer predicts serious food shortages
Monday 18 November 2024 16:30 , Andy GregoryHow many farmers will be affected by the inheritance tax changes?
Monday 18 November 2024 16:29 , Andy GregoryLabour 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
Monday 18 November 2024 16:27 , Andy GregoryCampaigner 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
Monday 18 November 2024 16:04 , Andy GregoryAhead 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.”
Watch: Louise Haigh defends Labour’s Budget measures ahead of farmer tax protest
Monday 18 November 2024 15:59 , Andy GregoryWhy are farm owners demonstrating over inheritance tax?
Monday 18 November 2024 15:58 , Andy GregoryFrom April 2026, landowners who inherit agricultural assets worth more than £1m will have to pay 20 per cent inheritance tax (IHT) on them. These assets were previously entirely exempt from the tax under the agricultural property relief law.
Under the new rules, the 20 per cent levy – which is half of the standard 40 per cent rate – will be charged on assets above the £1 million threshold only. Also unlike regular IHT, the levy can be paid in interest-free instalments over a ten-year period.
The exemption is stacked with other IHT relief measures. Inheritance tax is already not paid if the value of the estate being passed on is worth under £325,000, plus £175,000 for a home under certain conditions.
For a farm owned by two people, this means the effective tax-free amount passed on is £3m when combining both their allowances plus each getting the £1m agricultural relief.
My colleague Albert Toth has more details here:
Farmers’ protest: Why are farm owners demonstrating over inheritance tax?
Full story: Farmers set to protest over ‘completely unacceptable’ inheritance tax changes
Monday 18 November 2024 15:55 , Andy GregoryLarge demonstrations by farmers are expected in London on Tuesday as they fight to reverse “absolutely unacceptable” changes to inheritance tax.
The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) is holding a mass lobby of MPs with 1,800 of its members – three times as many people as originally planned – to urge backbenchers to stand up to the Government’s plans to impose inheritance tax on farms worth more than £1 million.
And thousands more are expected to join a separate rally in Whitehall as they protest against last month’s Budget, which also sped up the phase out of EU-era subsidies as funding is switched to nature-friendly farming schemes.
Celebrities including TV presenter and farmer Jeremy Clarkson – who told the Times in 2021 that avoiding inheritance tax was “critical” in his decision to buy land – are expected to join the rally.
Emily Beament reports:
Farmers set to protest over ‘completely unacceptable’ inheritance tax changes
Good afternoon, we’ll be using this blog to bring you the latest updates as farmers stage a large demonstration in Whitehall tomorrow to protest against the government’s proposed inheritance tax changes.
