Farmers’ fight continues

Farmers are not giving up on their struggle against inheritance tax changes and other attacks on their industry.

Keir Starmer had to abandon his visit to a housing development in Buckinghamshire on 13 February due to a noisy protest by tractor-driving farmers. As he beat a retreat in a blacked-out car the protesters shouted, “If you're in there, just talk to us!”

Rally

This action follows a tractor rally in Whitehall organised by Save British Farming on 9 February to coincide with MPs’ debate on an e-petition signed by more than 148,000 people calling for the current inheritance tax arrangements for working farms to remain.

The National Farmers Union president Tom Bradshaw said, “the strength of feeling around the proposed family farm tax is still incredibly high.”

‘Farmers raised awareness of the impact on farming businesses.’

The NFU held a national Farming Day of Unity on 25 January, with scores of events across the UK. Farmers brought food, tractors, and livestock to town centres to raise awareness of the impact of the planned reforms to inheritance tax for farming businesses and force the government to review its decision. As part of the action, a dramatic convoy of 75 tractors crossed the Humber Bridge.

Worried

Rachel Hallos, livestock farmer and vice president of the NFU, said, “The inheritance tax changes from the Budget will ultimately decimate what we've currently got in this country, and we're really worried about it.”

These changes will make many unable to pass on viable farms within their families. It will also make farmers think twice before making any investment in their farms, in case it would push their farm’s value over the £1 million limit and attract IHT.

“Misleading”

The government claims that the changes will only affect 500 farms, but the NFU says the government's figures are “misleading”, the asset value of food-producing farms is high, while profitability is low.

The Countryside Alliance estimates that 70,000 UK farms will potentially be affected at the point of inheritance. Gavin Lane, deputy president of the Country Land and Business Association, said: “Either the government isn’t being honest with the public about the true impact of these reforms, or they don’t understand the nature of rural businesses.”

Campaign

The farmers’ sustained campaign began after the Budget last October with a tractor demonstration in London in November bearing its slogan “No Farmers. No Food. No Future.” On 24 January the NFU delivered a petition to Downing Street signed by 270,000 people.

Supermarkets were initially unwilling to get involved, so farmers took their tractors to supermarket car parks on 17 January, pressing home the point that food security would be at risk due to the proposed changes. The changes will result in a reduction in British farm produce and lead to more reliance on imports.

Pressure

The result is that all the major supermarkets – Morrisons, Aldi, Lidl, Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s – are now lined up behind the farmers and exerting pressure on the government to pause the implementation of the tax and conduct a consultation.

The Office of Budget Responsibility has published a report on the current proposed changes to taxation. It says that the measures, announced without consultation, are “highly uncertain” to raise the £500 million the Treasury claims. The report goes on to say “it is likely to be more difficult for some older individuals to quickly restructure their affairs in response to the measure.”

‘Government rewards environmental improvements but not food production.’

The IHT changes are just the latest in a long series of threats to the viability of British farming. There were drastic cuts in essential farm support after the government changed its basis to reward environmental improvements but not food production.

Supermarkets may be on board with the campaign against IHT changes. But supermarket pricing of farm products is another threat; they protect their own profits but squeeze the price paid to farmers.

Unfair

Successive governments have engaged in making a series of free trade arrangements which introduce unfair competition. The UK-Australia agreement in 2021 is an example.

NFU spokesman Minette Batters said, “this FTA simply opens up UK agricultural markets for Australian produce, whether or not produced to the same standards that are legally required of UK farmers.” She continued "... there is scant evidence that the government has the vision to create the conditions to allow our farmers to compete.”