North-east farmers rally to protest ‘cruel’ family farm tax policy
Two north-east MPs have lent their backing to a rally opposing the Labour government’s controversial family farm tax.
Changes to Agricultural Property Relief and Inheritance Tax that would see the removal of the inheritance tax exemption with a tax of 20 per cent set to be applied to farms with assets over £1 million.
This has sparked grave concerns among the farming community, with warning that the new tax burden would prevent many farms being handed down to the next generation of farmers.
A protest rally by north-east farmers last Saturday saw Conservative MP for Gordon and Buchan Harriet Cross and the SNP’s Seamus Logan - who represents Aberdeenshire North and Moray East - attend to lend their voices to the rising tide of opposition to the tax.
Ms Cross warned that farmers and their supporters were in no mood to back down.
She said: “The emphatic message was loud and clear from farmers at the north-east tractor rally - we won’t stop.
“Farming forms the lifeblood of the north-east and Scotland, however Labour’s family farm tax could decimate our rural communities.
“Keir Starmer thinks farmers will eventually forget and move on, but that couldn’t be any further from the truth. Farmers, their communities and rural politicians like myself are in this for the long haul and we will continue to fight against this unfair tax regime.
“This cruel policy from Labour would not only mark the end of many family farms and wipe out a significant number of the next generation of farmers, it affects everyone in terms of the impact on our food security. Keir Starmer must recognise the devastating consequences of this and reverse his proposals to safeguard both farming and the nation before it’s too late.
“At Westminster, I again challenged the Exchequer Secretary, James Murray MP, about Labour’s family farm tax after the Office for Budget Responsibility revealed the policy will leave elderly farmers hugely exposed, with no time to manage their way through the changes. The OBR also warned it was ‘highly uncertain’ whether the measures would raise the £500 million the Treasury claims it would raise.
“The watchdog said the yield from the inheritance tax changes was not likely to reach a steady state for ‘at least 20 years’.
“It’s positive that the industry now has the backing of Tesco, Aldi, Lidl and the Co-op which have now joined Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Asda in backing calls for Labour to pause its plans and hold a consultation on how best to raise revenue while minimising the impact on farmers. Keir Starmer must start to listen to the independent advice and the voices across the industry. He must urgently recognise the devastating consequences of this policy and reverse his proposals to safeguard both farming and the nation’s food security before it’s too late.”
Mr Logan warned that the tax would miss its supposed target of the super wealthy and inside hit ordinary farmers.
He continued: “I was pleased to join farmers from across the north-east at this rally on Saturday to reiterate my support for them as they fight back against the UK Government’s reforms of APR and Inheritance Tax.
“As I highlighted at a debate on this matter in Westminster [recently], food security is national security, and these changes threaten that security and farming communities that have worked the land for generations.
“The Chancellor argues that these reforms are necessary to tackle the so-called ‘black hole’ left by Tory mismanagement of the public finances, but I don’t see why this bad inheritance from the previous government justifies a bad policy for consumers and farmers, a policy that aims to target the super-wealthy trying to avoid inheritance tax, but also hits ordinary family farms in the process.
“The Labour Government have a short memory since they promised not to change these tax reliefs before they came into power. Now they’re ignoring not just the Office for Budget Responsibility, who has cast doubt on the revenue this policy would raise, but they’re also still refusing to meet with the NFU and NFUS.
“The National Farmers’ Union has highlighted that the Treasury revenue figure of £500 million is uncertain and question the data used to model their policy which suggests only 500 farms would be affected. The NFU argue that it would be more like 2500 per year with such a low threshold.
“Now the major supermarket chains have backed farmers too, calling for a pause on implementation until a full consultation is carried out. But while the justification for this policy is falling apart, Labour just doubles down. It’s well past time for a rethink from the Chancellor.”
The rally had been rescheduled due to Storm Eowyn.
