NFU president, Tom Bradshaw, addressed protesters at the opening of the organisation’s mass lobby in London yesterday, urging the government to reconsider the inheritance tax changes announced in the chancellor’s autumn Budget.
NFU members flocked to Westminster to meet with local MPs, lobbying them to help reverse the proposed removal of agricultural property relief (APR), while offering insight into the new policy’s impact on British food and the industry in general.
He started his speech by thanking the packed room in Church House, off Westminster, for making the effort to join in the fight, adding that it takes something “extraordinary” to illicit such a reaction from farmers, who he has never seen “this angry, this disillusioned and this upset”.
Bradshaw condemned Rachel Reeves decision to absolve the tax free inheritance of farm land between generations, which he said was constructed on the back of “bad data” and concluded without consultation with farm bodies.
“To launch a policy this destructive without speaking to anyone involved in farming beggars belief,” he said.
He described the Budget as a “kick in the teeth” to farmers who have already been challenged by poor weather, new taxes on fertilisers and reduced scheme payments.
The changes to inheritance tax contradicts Labour’s previous promises to keep APR in place, adding that their policy u-turn is “nothing short of a stab in the back”.
NFU
He went on to describe the human toll that the Budget will have on farming families across the country, which will affect over 75% of British farms in his estimation.
“We know what this means for our families, for our children, for our future. We know the horrendous pressure it is putting on the older generation of farmers who have given everything to providing the food for this country.
“We know that any tax revenue will be taken from our children and raised from those that die in tragic circumstances or within the next seven years. The human impact of this policy is simply not acceptable – it’s wrong,” the NFU president said.
Bradshaw asserted that many farmers will be forced to sell land, breaking up farms in order to cover the new inheritance tax liabilities .
The prospective policy change will also have a “dramatic” impact on the UK’s food security, which will be compromised by the consequential inflationary pressure on the whole supply chain, in his opinion.
He encouraged attendees to share their stories “from the heart”, to connect with MPs and members of the press to raise awareness of their concerns in a bit to appeal the Budget’s implications.
“We know that farmers may get tired, but as every one of you in this room knows, none of us are going to give up. We won’t give up. We won’t stop fighting this at a national level, or a local level. In every constituency, we will take the fight to our MPs.
“Our request is very simple – this is a policy that will rip the heart out of of Britain’s family farms, launched on bad data with no consultation and it must be halted and considered properly”, he continued.
The event coincided with a march through the capital, which saw thousands of angry farmers form a procession through the streets, culminating at Whitehall.
NFU member, Clare Wise, who participated in both the mass lobby and rally spoke out about what the government’s changes to inheritance tax will mean for her farm:
“My family have been proudly producing food on this farm for 126 years. Passed from generation to generation. The Budget just took away that future from my children.
“The reality is that a viable, food producing farm in this country is not worth £1 million like the Treasury claims. This Budget means that my children, if I die tomorrow, will have to raise nearly £500,000 in taxes.
“This farm, their skills and everything we stand for here will be lost,” she said.
