November 2024–present United Kingdom farmers' protests

Last updated

November 2024–present United Kingdom farmers' protests
Date19 November 2024 (2024-11-19) – ongoing
Location
United Kingdom
Caused byNew inheritance tax laws on agricultural assets
Methods Protests, lobbying
StatusOngoing[ needs update ]
Parties

Mass protests organised by farmer organisations, against new inheritance tax laws on agricultural assets, have taken place around the United Kingdom since November 2024. The new laws were proposed in the October 2024 budget of the Labour government, and have led to thousands of British farmers protesting, including in Parliament Square and addressing MPs directly in parliament.

Contents

Background

The protests were a response to proposed changes to inheritance tax on agricultural assets, which media outlets dubbed as a "tractor tax". Previously, the intergenerational transfer of farms had been exempt from taxation as a result of 1992 tax break by the Conservative Major ministry intended to protect food security. [1] [2]

In November 2024, the newly elected Labour Starmer ministry announced plans to remove the exemphtion from inheritance tax for farms valued over at least £1,000,000 in order to generate revenue for public services. [2] Set to take effect in April 2026, the new policy would see a 20% inheritance tax on farm valued over that threshold, half the standard rate of inheritance tax, and could be paid intrest-free across ten years. [2]

Opposition to the change from farmers stemmed from the fact claim that farmers while asset rich, are cash poor, which they said created a situation where heirs would have to sell farm land to meet tax obligations. [1] Supporters of the change claimed it would mitigate and prevent wealthy individuals from buying farmland to avoid inheretence tax. [3] [4] [5]

Organisations representing British farm owners said income declined across various agricultural sectors in the year ending February 2024, with some farms experiencing revenue drops exceeding 70%. Average annual incomes ranged from a modest £17,000 for livestock grazing operations to £143,000 for specialised poultry farms, further exacerbating the thinness of profit margins despite high land valuations. [6] [7] [2]

The scale of potential impact is a point of contention. Government figures suggested the measure would affect approximately 27 percent of farms in the UK (approximately 56,700 farms), [8] equivalent to 500 farms annually. [1] The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) suggested that 35 percent of farms (approximately 70,000 farms) would be impacted. [1] [2] BBC Verify said their analysis suggests the actual numbers were likely to be closer to those from the government than the CLA's. [8] The Telegraph disputed BBC Verify's figures. [9] Additionally, various conditional allowences can result a tax threshold as high as £3,000,000. [10]

Protests

November

On 19 November, thousands of farmers gathered on Parliament Square in London to protest against the planned agricultural inheritance taxation policies. The National Farmers' Union (NFU), through its president, Tom Bradshaw, promised sustained protest activities until their concerns were adequately addressed. The organisation characterised the tax measure as having "disastrous human impacts" on farming communities. [1] Amongst the protestors were demonstrators carrying banners and megaphones while children rode toy tractors around Parliament Square. Despite organisers' requests to avoid bringing agricultural machinery into London, a small group of real tractors proceeded past Downing Street, necessitating a Metropolitan Police response. Jeremy Clarkson addressed one group, calling the tax hikes a "hammer blow to the back of the head" of British agriculture. [7] [11] A BBC News journalist put to him comments Clarkson had made previously in The Times , saying he had only got into farming to avoid taxes. [12] The General Secretary of the NFU said that more extreme actions could be taken if the Government didn't U-turn. [11] The protest included a coordinated lobbying effort involving 1,800 farmers entering Parliament to press their case directly with Members of Parliament (MPs). [6] NFU leaders engaged with approximately 150 MPs, warning of potential food shortages and the dissolution of family farming traditions. There were also concerns from some farmers that the change could lead to dependence on natural disaster-vulnerable foreign food imports from countries like Peru, Spain, or Portugal. [11]

Traffic in the Channel port town of Dover was disrupted on 27 November by dozens of farmers from Kent and Sussex staging a go-slow tractor protest in the town against the tax changes. [13] [14] The protest was organised by the campaign groups Save British Farming and Fairness for Farmers, and was supported by the National Farmers’ Union. [14] On the evening of same day, farmers in Wales parked 40 tractors in front of Holyhead Port on the island of Anglesey in Wales. The tractors caused disruption and delay to ferry services to and from the port until the early morning of 28 November, with lorries being held up for several hours. [15]

On 28 November, hundreds of farmers and crofters held a rally in Edinburgh outside the Scottish Parliament Building. [16]

Dozens of Devon farmers took part in a rally on Bigbury beach, on 30 November, to protest over the tax changes. [17]

December

On 9 December, about 40 tractors circled around the centre of Melton Mowbray to protest against the government's "family farm tax". A £400,000 forage harvester featured in the event. [18]

The dispute was taken to central London again on 11 December, as hundreds of tractors were driven into Whitehall. Farmers from all over the UK congregated in central London under the banner "RIP British Farming". [19] Also on 11 December, Farmers disrupted national trunk roads, as around 75 tractors from Essex and Suffolk took part in a go-slow on the A14 near the port of Felixstowe whilst about 20 tractors did the same thing on the A5 near the Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal in Northamptonshire. [20] On the same day, crowds gathered in Yorkshire to watch more than 100 tractors process from Murton and through the city of York, passing landmarks such as York Minster and Clifford's Tower. [21]

Responses

The prime minister, Keir Starmer, responded to concerns by saying that the actual threshold for inheritance tax liability could reach up to as high as £3,000,000 pounds once various exemptions were applied, including considerations for couples and specific agricultural property relief. [1] [11]

The secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, Steve Reed defended the tax changes as a measure to counter wealthy investors using agricultural land for tax avoidance, stating it had become "the most effective way for the super rich to avoid paying their inheritance tax." [6]

The National Farmers' Union said that more than 60% of farms could be impacted by tax implications. The organisation's deputy president, David Exwood, said that the government had "completely blown their trust with the industry." [6]

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said that she would U-turn on the move if the Conservatives were elected in the next general election. [11]

British campaigner Guy Shrubsole said that while people were debating the change in inheritance tax, that 350 aristocratic estates remained inheritance tax exempt due to being counted under the ‘tax-exempt heritage assets’ scheme. He urged the government to close this tax loophole. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremy Clarkson</span> English television presenter, journalist and author (born 1960)

Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English television presenter, journalist, farmer, and author who specialises in motoring. He is best known for hosting the television programmes Top Gear (2002–2015) and The Grand Tour (2016–2024) alongside Richard Hammond and James May. He also currently writes weekly columns for The Sunday Times and The Sun. Clarkson hosts the ITV game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (2018–present), and co-hosts the farming documentary show Clarkson's Farm (2021–present).

The National Farmers' Union (NFU) is an employer association representing farming and growing businesses within England and Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Plumb, Baron Plumb</span> British politician and farmer (1925–2022)

Charles Henry Plumb, Baron Plumb, was a British politician and farmer who went into politics as a leader of the National Farmers' Union. He later became active in the Conservative Party and was elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP). He served as an MEP from 1979 to 1999, and was President of the European Parliament from 1987 to 1989, the only Briton to hold the post.

British Columbia's Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) is a collection of land where agriculture is designated as the priority use. Farming is encouraged and non-agricultural uses are restricted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NFU Mutual</span> British mutual insurance company

NFU Mutual is a UK insurance composite. As a mutual, its policyholder members own the business, and the executives and directors are accountable to them. The full name of the organisation is National Farmers' Union Mutual Insurance Society Limited.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Farmers' Union of Scotland</span>

The National Farmers' Union of Scotland is an employer association organisation that represents the interests of the Scotland's farming industry. It was formed in 1913, and has approximately 10,000 members who are farmers, crofters and others involved in Scottish agriculture.

Robert Fisher Crouch was a British farmer and politician. In Parliament, as the Conservative Party Member of Parliament for North Dorset, he specialised in agricultural issues, and was known as an independent-minded politician. His most notable contribution was to bring to public attention the Crichel Down affair, in which the Government's failure to sell requisitioned land back to its original owner led to the resignation of the Minister responsible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agriculture in the United Kingdom</span> Economic sector in the United Kingdom

Agriculture in the United Kingdom uses 70% of the country's land area, employs 1% of its workforce and contributes 0.5% of its gross value added. The UK currently produces about 54% of its domestic food consumption.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rural Solidarity</span> Polish farmers trade union

Rural Solidarity is a trade union of Polish farmers, established in late 1980 as part of the growing Solidarity movement. Its legalization became possible on February 19, 1981, when officials of the government of the People's Republic of Poland signed the so-called Rzeszów - Ustrzyki Dolne Agreement with striking farmers. Previously, Communist government had refused farmers’ right to self-organize, which caused widespread strikes, with the biggest wave taking place in January 1981. The Rural Solidarity was officially recognized on May 12, 1981, and, strongly backed by the Catholic Church of Poland, it claimed to represent at least half of Poland's 3.2 million smallholders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nocton Dairies controversy</span>

Nocton Dairies is a British company which was formed by Devon farmer and cheese-maker Peter Willes and Lancashire milk producer David Barnes in order to construct an 8,100-cow dairy at Nocton Heath in Lincolnshire, objectors to which claimed that it would have been the largest in Western Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assured Food Standards</span> Owner of the Red Tractor quality mark in the United Kingdom

Assured Food Standards is a United Kingdom company which licenses the Red Tractor quality mark, a farm assurance programme for food products, animal feed and fertiliser. Multiple cases of animal abuse have been reported on Red Tractor assured farms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agriculture in Wales</span> Cultivation of plants and animals in Wales

Agriculture in Wales has in the past been a major part of the economy of Wales, a largely rural country which is part of the United Kingdom. Wales is mountainous and has a mild, wet climate. This results in only a small proportion of the land area being suitable for arable cropping, but grass for the grazing of livestock is present in abundance. As a proportion of the national economy, agriculture is now much less important; a high proportion of the population now live in the towns and cities in the south of the country and tourism has become an important form of income in the countryside and on the coast. Arable cropping is limited to the flatter parts and elsewhere dairying and livestock farming predominate.

The Indian agriculture acts of 2020, often termed the Farm Bills, were three acts initiated by the Parliament of India in September 2020. The Lok Sabha approved the bills on 17 September 2020 and the Rajya Sabha on 20 September 2020. The then President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, gave his assent on 27 September 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest</span> Protests in India against three farm acts

The 2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest was a protest against three farm acts that were passed by the Parliament of India in September 2020. The acts, often called the Farm Bills, had been described as "anti-farmer laws" by many farmer unions, and politicians from the opposition who said that it would leave farmers at the "mercy of corporates" since the farmer-trader disputes were taken to SDM instead of judiciary. The protests demanded the creation of a minimum support price (MSP) bill, to ensure that corporates cannot control the prices. The Union Government, however, maintained that the laws would make it effortless for farmers to sell their produce directly to big buyers, and stated that the protests are based on misinformation. Related endemic legacy issues include farmer suicides and low farmer incomes. Despite India being largely self-sufficient in foodgrain production and having welfare schemes, hunger and nutrition remain serious issues, with India ranking as one of the worst countries in the world in food security parameters. Due to unfulfilled previous demands 2024 Indian farmers' protest started on 13 of February 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minette Batters, Baroness Batters</span> British farmer (born 1967)

Minette Bridget Batters, Baroness Batters,, is a British farmer who was the president of the National Farmers' Union of England and Wales from 2018 to 2024. She has been a member of the House of Lords since 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Indian farmers' Republic Day protest</span> Part of Indian farmers Protest

The 2021 Farmers' Republic Day protest was a protest on 26 January 2021 at Delhi. Part of the 2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest. The protestors deviated from the parade to take the parade towards Red Fort. The protest took place on the 72nd Republic Day against the decision by Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to implement three farm acts.

<i>Clarksons Farm</i> British television documentary series with Jeremy Clarkson

Clarkson's Farm is a British television documentary series about Jeremy Clarkson and his farm in the Cotswolds. The series documents Clarkson's attempts at running a 1,000-acre (400 ha) farm near Chipping Norton in West Oxfordshire. Described by Clarkson as "genuine reality television", the series has received positive reviews and has been praised for raising public awareness of the British farming industry on the international stage. The first series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 11 June 2021.

Groundswell NZ is a farming advocacy group in New Zealand that was formed to oppose the New Zealand Government's National Policy Statement on Freshwater. The group has also sought to oppose or revise freshwater, indigenous biodiversity, climate change, pastoral land reform policies, and the Three Waters reform programme affecting farmers and rural communities On 16 July 2021, Groundswell NZ staged a nationwide Howl of a Protest campaign in between 47 and 57 cities and towns throughout New Zealand to protest what they regarded as "increasing Government interference, unworkable regulations, and unjustified costs" on the rural sector. On 21 November 2021, Groundswell NZ held a second series of nationwide protests known as the Mother of All Protests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">October 2024 United Kingdom budget</span>

The October 2024 United Kingdom budget was delivered to the House of Commons by Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 30 October 2024. She is the inaugural female to present a UK Budget, marking the Labour Party's first Budget in over 14 years. It covered Labour's fiscal plans, with a focus on investment, healthcare, education, childcare, sustainable energy, transport, and workers' rights enrichment.

Thomas William Bradshaw is a British farmer who has served as president of the National Farmers' Union of England and Wales since 2024.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "British farmers protest against 'tractor tax' on inheritance". AlJazeera. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Horton, Helena (19 November 2024). "What are the key arguments in the farm inheritance tax debate?". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  3. ↑ "Thousands of UK farmers descend on Parliament to protest a tax they say will ruin family farms". AP News. 19 November 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  4. ↑ "The super rich are attacking plans to close agriculture tax breaks". Tax Justice UK. 14 November 2024. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  5. ↑ Singh-Watson, Guy (8 November 2024). "I'm a farmer – and I'm glad to see tax loopholes closing for cynical investor landowners". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Thousands of UK farmers descend on Parliament to protest a tax they say will ruin family farms". AP News. 19 November 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  7. 1 2 "Farmers march in inheritance tax protest in London". BBC News. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  8. 1 2 "Explaining the farming tax change row". BBC News. 19 November 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  9. ↑ Singh, Anita (20 November 2024). "BBC Verify used Labour activist to back Government's claims on farm inheritance tax". The Telegraph.
  10. ↑ "Farmers march in inheritance tax protest in London". BBC News. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 "NFU chief hints farmers could take more extreme action after inheritance tax protest". Independent. 19 November 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  12. ↑ "Clarkson clashes with BBC over inheritance tax comment". BBC News. 19 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  13. ↑ "Farmers across Kent and Sussex protest at Dover over changes to inheritance tax". ITV News. 27 November 2024.
  14. 1 2 Fuller, Christine (27 November 2024). "Farmers protest changes to inheritance tax". BBC News.
  15. ↑ Williams, Gareth (29 November 2024). "Port protest farmers warn of more demos in tax row". BBC News.
  16. ↑ Keane, Kevin (28 November 2024). "Farmers hold rally at Holyrood over funding and tax". BBC News.
  17. ↑ "Farmers stage beach rally over inheritance tax". BBC News. 30 November 2024.
  18. ↑ Case, Philip (10 December 2024). "Farmers rally in Melton Mowbray against 'family farm tax'". Farmers Weekly.
  19. ↑ Speed, Madeleine (11 December 2024). "Farmers gather in Whitehall in latest protest against Budget tax changes". Financial Times.
  20. ↑ Sinclair, Andrew; Grant, James (11 December 2024). "Farmers snarl up roads in inheritance tax protest". BBC News.
  21. ↑ Fewster, Louise; Russell, Rachel (11 December 2024). "'Time for a ewe-turn': Tractor protest over tax". BBC News.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.