Labour is ‘crushing’ the farming industry with ‘ideological’ tax row | Politics | News

The farming industry is being crushed by Labour’s plans to change laws on inheritance tax.

Labour’s plans were meet by uproar and saw more than ten-thousand people take to the streets of Westminster on Monday.

The protest brought together farmers from up and down the country, all furious that the changes may impact their futures.

While the country was on the brink of standstill, Sir Keir was in Rio de Janeiro at a G20 meeting.

Speaking on The Division Bell podcast, The Express’ Martyn Brown said:

“It’s pretty embarrassing for the prime minister, who was 6000 miles away in Rio de Janeiro…To have all these furious farmers on his doorstep, protesting against what amounts to be a bit of a budget cock up.”

“[The policy impacts] hugely on farmers. They’re thinking and they’re planning for their futures. This is just an ideological policy by Labour that aims to crack down on perhaps some wealthy people who want to avoid inheritance tax. But also just to push farmers and punish them into maybe diversifying so we can have loads more solar panels and wind farms across our green and pleasant land.”

Jeremy Clarkson was at the protest and said he was asking ng the government to “be big, to accept that this was rushed through, it wasn’t through out… and back down.”

Nigel Farage has also spoken out, and said this is merely the start “of a real fight”.

Martyn said: “It’s just the backhanded way the government’s gone about this. They maintain and bang on about how they’ve put 5 billion into farming and then they’ve introduced this policy to save what, 200 odd million a year.”

“It’s all about money and saving money in the budget. So why not just give farmers a little bit less and cut the 5 billion, figure down to keep the policy the same? And then then you have happy farmers.”

The changes were announced as part of the Budget last month.

Before the Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the plans, farms were eligible for 100% on inheritance tax on both agricultural property and business property.

Government has said it is changing this and farms worth over £1 million will face an effective inheritance tax rate of 20% on assets above the threshold.

The Chancellor insists that is both lower than the usual 40% rate of inheritance tax, and that the actual threshold will be £3 million due to other exemptions and laws.

The Treasury’s figures say that in actual fact just 500 estates will be affected, and that they will stay pay a reduced rate of tax at 20%.

They claim the policy will raise “about £1bn a year for taxpayers”, while the tax can be paid in instalments over 10 years interest-free, rather than immediately upon the death of the farm owner.

However, many thousands of farmers claim they will also be hurt by the tax hike, and passionately reject the Treasury’s own costings.

Martyn warns of the impact of the policy.

He said: “The result of this means that they’re just farmers are going to maybe not bother with farming anymore. And then UK food production is already on the downward spiral and is going to go down even further. Is just crushing the farming industry.”

“[It impacts] the associated communities as well. You may have these wealthy farmers, but it’s not just them, it’s the local community around them who benefit from the farms.”