Downing 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.
Mr Musk made the claim on X, formerly Twitter, the social media platform he owns.
The businessman, who will advise Donald Trump’s incoming US administration, shared a screenshot of a Guardian newspaper article titled “Farmers have hoarded land for too long. Inheritance tax will bring new life to rural Britain”.
The opinion piece predicted that changes to inheritance tax relief for farmers made by Rachel Reeves at the Budget could lead to a break-up of the largest farms, giving younger farmers a chance to buy land and enter the industry.
But Mr Musk was more critical of the reforms in his response, writing in a repost: “Britain is going full Stalin.”
Britain is going full Stalin https://t.co/GYtwBMu11S
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 18, 2024
The billionaire’s claim appears to be a reference to Soviet leader Joseph Stalin’s forced collectivisation of once privately owned farms, which brought them into state control between 1928 and 1940.
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 spokeswoman 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.”
She would not be drawn into saying whether the Government rejected Mr Musk’s premise, adding only: “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.”
The Twitter and Tesla owner has previously been an outspoken critic of Sir Keir Starmer’s ministry, and is set to advise President-elect Trump on how to reform and make savings for the US federal government.
Ministers are facing growing anger from farmers about the inheritance tax reforms which the Chancellor announced in the Budget.
A “mass lobby” of MPs organised by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) will take place in Westminster on Tuesday, alongside a separate protest which thousands are expected to join.
They are warning more farmers will be affected by changes to tax relief on their property and land than the Treasury has accounted for.
Official estimates suggest only the richest quarter of landowners will be affected, but the NFU and others say reforms to inheritance tax relief could drag more farmers into paying extra.
