Jeremy Clarkson has joined thousands of other farmers in Westminster protesting against Labour's changes to inheritance tax.
As the controversy over the new “tractor tax” intensifies, the former Top Gear host, who has received accolades for his reality show Clarkson's Farm, delivered a speech to the crowd, highlighting the costs, regulations and pressure that farmers face from environmentalists.
“I know a lot of people across the country in all walks of life took a bit of a kick on the shin with that Budget. You lot got a knee in the nuts and a hammer blow to the back of the head.”
“For the sake of everybody here, and for all the farmers stuck at home paralysed by a fog of despair over what’s been foisted on them, I beg of the Government to be big and accept this was rushed through, it wasn’t thought out and it was a mistake,” he continued. “That’s the big thing to do, and back down.”
Celebrities and agricultural spoke at the gathering on Tuesday, while children riding toy tractors led a march in London. The organisers advised attenders not to bring any farm equipment. Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch was also at the Westminster demo, where she said that change “will destroy farming as we know it” and called farming “the backbone of this country” in a speech.
The extension of inheritance tax (IHT) to farms worth more than £1 million (although allowances mean most estates worth less than £3m will not pay any IHT) has already sparked protests outside the Welsh Labour conference, which have been made worse by the lack of clarity about the Treasury numbers that underpin the change.
Transport Secretary Louise Haigh recently announced that food shortages will be addressed if farmers follow through on their threat to go on strike over inheritance tax plans.
Continue reading to find out more about the farmers’ rally.
Why are the farmers protesting?
The budget delivered by Rachel Reeves extends IHT to agricultural land and has drawn criticism from farmers. It also freezes current inheritance tax thresholds for two more years from 2028 until 2030.
Currently the first £325,000 of an estate is tax free before being subject to IHT at 40 per cent, although various allowances mean for most people the actual threshold is much higher. The rate for farms will be 20 per cent as a 50 per cent relief will be available.
Farmers have claimed that they are the ones who suffer the most from a system that the extremely affluent use to evade paying IHT.
According to Clarkson last week, the government is “ethnically cleansing” the British countryside to create “immigrant towns” on farms.
The 64-year-old criticised the inheritance tax extension in the Sun: “I’m becoming more and more convinced that Starmer and Reeves have a sinister plan. They want to carpet bomb our farmland with new towns for immigrants and net zero wind farms.
“But before they can do that, they have to ethnically cleanse the countryside of farmers. That’s why they had a Budget which makes farming nigh on impossible.”
Where did the farmers meet?
The farmers’ rally is started at Richmond Terrace near Westminster Tube at 11am on Tuesday November 19. It was predicted that 1,800 NFU members will lobby lawmakers outside Church House Westminster in three rotations of 600.
The procession then returned to Richmond Terrace for a final address by the NFU president, Tom Bradshaw.
What has the Government said?
The Government has played down worries that there would be food shortages as a result.
Daniel Zeichner, the agriculture minister, has urged people to look at the tax issue calmly. He said the Government has a “fair and balanced” approach and that “the majority of those claiming relief will not be affected by these changes”.
Mr Zeichner told BBC Politics East: “I urge people to look calmly at the details and I think they will find that the vast majority will be fine.
“The figures from the Treasury are very clear: under 500 farms a year are likely to be affected.
“And I would say to people: take advice because every person’s situation is different and there will be many, many people who will find they are not actually going to be caught by this.”
