Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

‘Breaking point’ – Farmers to stage new protests over inheritance tax reforms

Farmers say they want to thank the British public for their support and warn of the impact of the planned reforms.

Alan Jones
Friday 24 January 2025 21:45 EST
Members of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) Scotland take part in a rally outside Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh to call on the Scottish Budget to deliver increased and ringfenced funding for farmers and crofters (Jane Barlow/PA)
Members of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) Scotland take part in a rally outside Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh to call on the Scottish Budget to deliver increased and ringfenced funding for farmers and crofters (Jane Barlow/PA) (PA Wire)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Protests will take place across the country on Saturday as farmers step up their campaign against the Government’s controversial inheritance tax reforms.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) warned that many farmers were at “breaking point” and could not afford increased bills.

A petition signed by more than 270,000 members of the public was handed in to 10 Downing Street by NFU president Tom Bradshaw and NFU Cymru president Aled Jones on Friday, urging the Government to ditch what they described as the “devastating family farm tax”.

With the likely loss of family farm businesses as a result of this tax, alongside increases in employment costs also announced in the Budget, there is a real risk to UK food production

NFU

The NFU is staging a series of events on Saturday as part of a so-called National Day of Unity.

Farmers say they want to thank the British public for their support and warn of the impact of the planned reforms to inheritance tax for farming businesses.

“After decades of tightening margins, record inflation, increased production costs and extreme weather, many farmers and growers are at breaking point and simply will not be able to afford the increased tax bill they will now face,” said the NFU.

“With the likely loss of family farm businesses as a result of this tax, alongside increases in employment costs also announced in the Budget, there is a real risk to UK food production.”

In a statement, the four presidents of the UK farming unions said: “The public in huge numbers, more than 270,000, have signed this family farm tax petition expressing their anger and frustration at the utter contempt shown by the government for the people who produce the nation’s food.

“It gives us great strength to know that the public are backing British farming at this critical moment in time.

“The industry is not taking this lying down. The government has woken a sleeping giant, as our mass lobby of MPs in Westminster and the farmer-led rally in Whitehall have demonstrated.

“The National Day of Unity provides another opportunity to call on the Government to overturn this abhorrent policy.

“It’s a day to come together for everyone who believes that Britain’s family farms, and the high-quality food they produce, deserve better.

“Farmers at events across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will be on hand to speak with the public to explain why changes to Agriculture Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) stand to punish food-producing businesses, destroying generations of work from hard-pressed farming families and changing the face of our rural communities forever.

“We’re asking the Chancellor to listen to farmers and meet with us to hear and fully understand our very real concerns.

“Rest assured, the UK farming unions will not sit quietly and let this go – we will continue fighting because this is not just about our farms, but our families, our future and your food.”

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in