More than 10,000 farmers descended on Westminster today to protest against the family farm tax, with the government sent a clear warning that there will be no let up until the policy is reversed.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, her Liberal Democrat counterpart Ed Davey and the UK’s most famous farmer, Jeremy Clarkson, addressed the rally, which also heard impassioned speeches by farmers affected by the changes to Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and other aspects of the Budget.
The overriding message to the government from the event that brought farmers together from all parts of the UK was that the changes to APR will affect many ordinary working farmers, not just, and in some cases, rather than the large corporate landowners the government is targeting.
In his speech, Mr Clarkson said: “I know a lot of people got a knee in the nuts from that Budget,” he said, Farmers Weekly reports. ”
“Rachel Reeves has told us 72% of farms are going to be unaffected. For the sake of everybody here, and for all the farmers stuck at home, paralysed with despair, I beg the government to be big.
“Admit that this was rushed through, it wasn’t thought out, and it was a mistake. The big thing to do now is to back down.”
Ms Badenoch described the policy as ‘cruel’ told the farmers the Conservatives ‘have their backs’ and will oppose it.
Earlier in the morning, a mass lobbying of MPs took place, organised by the NFU took place in Westminster, at the union’s president Tom Bradshaw spelled out the wider impacts of a policy, and promised that farmers would ‘not stop fighting’.
Mr Ed Davey said farmers were ‘fed up with being let down and taken for granted’, and called the inheritance tax change ‘stupid’. ”
In his speech, Mr Bradshaw urged farmers to engage with MPs and share their personal stories and to make it clear that their votes would be affected.
“Tell MPs your stories,” he urged, “from the heart, tell them what it means to you. Tell them how this impacts you, your farm, your family, your future,” he said, Farmers Weekly reports.
‘We won’t stop fighting. Farmers may get tired, but none of us are going to give up. We won’t stop fighting this at a national or local level,” he warned. “In every constituency, we will take the fight to MPs.”
‘Targeting the wrong people
There was a big pig farming presence at the event, with many travelling to the event after the National Pig Awards, which took place the previous night in London.
Yorkshire pig farmer Anna Longthorp: “I am not surprised there is such a huge turnout today. It just demonstrates that it’s not just the wealthiest farmers out there who are affected by this – it’s hitting every single one of us, small farms medium farms.
“It’s quite overwhelming and quite emotional seeing, seeing everybody here and multiple generations. This this policy is just ripping the heart out of the farming community.”
“It’s completely wrong to say only a few farms will be affected. There’s been no consultation. They have got their figures completely wrong. I think they’ve just grabbed them out thin air. £1m will get you diddly squat – a house and a pony paddock.
“The policy is targeting the wrong people – it’s the small and medium-sized farms who are going to suffer.”
Reed defends APR changes
Speaking to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee on Tuesdaym afternoon, Defra Secretary Steve Reed once again defended the policy, telling MPs many of the farmers protesting in London would not be affected by the APR changes.
He said the Treasury’s figures suggesting 24% of farms would be affected were backed by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) and the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), which, he added, ‘all say that less than 500 would be affected a year’.
“Assuming these projections from HMRC, validated by the OBR and the IFS, are correct then many of them – probably happily – are wrong – because there are things that they can do to plan their tax affairs, as most businesses and asset owners would do, to limit their liability.
“The numbers I’ve heard bandied around are enormous and very, very frightening… People have drawn a straight line to inheritance tax liability but you can’t do that.”