TV presenter and journalist Jeremy Clarkson said the Chancellor has used a “blunderbuss” to hit farmers as he arrived in London to protest against changes to agricultural inheritance tax.
Farmers from across the country made their way to the centre of the rainy capital on Tuesday morning, with many arriving in large coaches wearing tweed jackets.
Clarkson stepped off one such coach in Westminster to make his short way to the nearby protest, joking that he was there to do “a bit of Christmas shopping”.
He told the PA news agency: “I’m here to support the farmers, it’s that simple, because they need all the help they can get really, even from me.”
Clarkson told the Times in 2021 that avoiding inheritance tax was “the critical thing” in his decision to buy land.
Asked about his comments, he said: “That’s actually quite funny because the real reason I bought the farm was because I wanted to shoot, so I thought if I told a bunch of people that I bought a farm so I could shoot pheasants it might look bad.
“So, I thought I better come up with another excuse, so I said inheritance tax. I actually didn’t know about inheritance tax until after I bought it. I didn’t mind, obviously, but the real reason I bought it is because I wanted to shoot.”
He said he opposed the tax changes and believes the Government should admit they made a “mistake”.
“If she (Rachel Reeves) would have wanted to take out the likes of James Dyson and investment bankers and so on, she would have used a sniper’s rifle, but she’s used a blunderbuss and she’s hit all this lot,” Clarkson said.
“It was – as I understand it – it was a very rushed last-minute decision and I think we all make mistakes in life, and I think it’s time for them to say ‘you know what, we’ve cocked this one up a bit’ and back down.”
Farming contractor Kaleb Cooper and land agent Charlie Ireland, who both work on Clarkson’s farm and feature in the popular reality TV series, were also in London on Tuesday to join the protests.
Of his participation in the rallies, Ireland told PA: “We’ve come to say please come and listen, get out onto a farm.
“Rachel Reeves, I’ll take you around 100 farms, we will show you what it means.”
The pair said the tax changes will discourage investment in the industry.
Cooper told PA: “If you don’t get the investment, you will be hit with food shortages.”
The 26-year-old said there is such strong feeling amongst farmers because the business is one traditionally passed down for generations.
“We want our younger ones to take on our farms, our heritage,” he explained.
“And for example, for me, I haven’t got a farm to pass down but I have got a business that I’ve grown since I was 16 years old, so to pass that on to my child now I’m going to get taxed on that.
“And actually, can he afford to take that business on? And if he has to then sell two tractors, for example, to pay that tax bill, is that going to be unprofitable to actually then make sure you have a livelihood off that business?”
Ireland said the Government is “so far removed” from the business of farming.
“The Government have been in place for three or four months and come out and basically said this is how we want to deal with the farming in the countryside,” he said.
“The strength of feeling comes from, gosh they’ve missed that by a country mile. They’re so far removed from actually the business of farming and the day to day operation.”
