Starmer boxed in by farmers in Milton Keynes today. 🚜

Sorry for typos! Battery dying.

The farmers' demo seemed pretty ineffective.

Yes, because most of the farmers were getting on with their work knowing the whole thing was yet another media storm...

Grantanow

The farmers' demo seemed pretty ineffective.

What effect where you anticipating?

It had an effect on Starmer, Grantanow, because he didn’t stop to answer questions from the press. Whether he had intended to leave by helicopter or did so because he didn’t want to face the protesters I don’t know. However, I don’t think for one moment that he and Reeves will abandon this ill thought out policy. They seem incapable of admitting that they got something wrong.

I support the British farming community.

Not the real farmers who are working to provide our food but those who are landowners. They are hiding their wealth and avoiding inheritance taxes and calling themselves farmers.

The poorer young people with children suffer. The birth rate has fallen because of child care costs. The children of today will pay the pensions of tomorrow. The landowners will not suffer even then as they have their trust funds and other tax loophole schemes.

The effect it had on Starmer was that in an interview with Sky News afterwards, he doubled down.
nation.cymru/news/people-face-choice-between-nhs-or-farmers-tax-breaks-says-pm-after-protest/

As an aside, I feel quite uncomfortable about the farmers protesting whilst driving their best tractors, with millions of pounds worth of machinery on display at the latest protest, which I don’t think does them any favours with the average voter.

I don’t know if the average voter knows how much farm machinery costs, but the value of these essential machines is of course counted in valuing estates for IHT, so a farmer’s necessary tools of the trade will cost his family dear when he dies.

I’m sure you’re right Barleyfields, but I don’t think that people see it in those terms. To win them over, it’s the wrong message.

I heard somewhere yesterday that the amount of IHT anticipated each year from the farmers will keep the NHS afloat for approximately one and a half days.

PM is misleading the electorate once again, with his repeated soundbites that this tax will cut NHS waiting lists significantly…

The expenditure required to reduce waiting lists doesn’t equate directly to the cost of running the whole NHS though, it’s very specific GrannyGravy13. It remains to be seen whether the pledge to cut waiting lists will be achieved, which is a different issue.

Casdon

I’m sure you’re right Barleyfields, but I don’t think that people see it in those terms. To win them over, it’s the wrong message.

Speaking for the average voter?
Evidence?

In relative terms, it will bring in a pittance. I have no idea why they didn’t introduce IHT at the full rate on estates which include farmland which the deceased has not actively farmed. Those are the people who have invested in farmland to escape IHT.

Barleyfields

I don’t know if the average voter knows how much farm machinery costs, but the value of these essential machines is of course counted in valuing estates for IHT, so a farmer’s necessary tools of the trade will cost his family dear when he dies.

That's Ok, his family can sell the expensive farm machinery and go back to hand tilling. If they're lucky enough to be able to keep a horse or two they can have help with the ploughing. Will it affect productivity? Probably, but then fairs fair, and we can always import all the food we need. 🙄🙄

Mollygo

Casdon

I’m sure you’re right Barleyfields, but I don’t think that people see it in those terms. To win them over, it’s the wrong message.

Speaking for the average voter?
Evidence?

When you say ‘I think’ something Mollygo, that is what you mean. It is when you pass something off as fact that there are questions to be asked.

Barleyfields

I don’t know if the average voter knows how much farm machinery costs, but the value of these essential machines is of course counted in valuing estates for IHT, so a farmer’s necessary tools of the trade will cost his family dear when he dies.

How does a farmer carry out his or her work without the tools for the job?

Perhaps we should go back to planting, scything, threshing, winnowing by hand.
That will put the prices up.

Yes, all the equipment is valued, business assets, not just land and buildings.

Rosie51

Barleyfields

I don’t know if the average voter knows how much farm machinery costs, but the value of these essential machines is of course counted in valuing estates for IHT, so a farmer’s necessary tools of the trade will cost his family dear when he dies.

That's Ok, his family can sell the expensive farm machinery and go back to hand tilling. If they're lucky enough to be able to keep a horse or two they can have help with the ploughing. Will it affect productivity? Probably, but then fairs fair, and we can always import all the food we need. 🙄🙄

😀
Oh but Rosie51, Dobbin, Hercules and Buttercup might be worth a lot of money and have to be sold to raise IHT 🐴🐴🐴
They might be lucky enough to go to Farm Animal Sanctuary and not shipped off to France.

“The hardest thing I’ve had to do.” That was the heartbreaking confession of a British dairy farmer after selling his herd of cows, bringing to an end a family business that had been in existence for nearly 200 years.

The reason for this fateful decision? A 14p-a-litre drop in the price he was getting for his milk, within a few months, despite facing continued high bills for electricity, animal feed and fertiliser. “I can’t understand why anyone would want to carry it on,” he said.

The milk producer, who has chosen to remain nameless, told his story to David Exwood, a Sussex farmer, who shared the comments on Twitter. His situation is far from unique. Dairy farmers and other food producers have been struggling with spiralling costs since the outbreak of war in Ukraine last February pushed energy bills skywards – also affecting the cost of fertiliser, which needs gas for its production.”
this is part of an article in The Guardian a couple of years ago. Now, it has angered me for a long time how badly farmers are treated by supermarkets. What I don’t understand is why they only now feel the need to take to the streets to protest. It just seems to me that they are happy to take things on the chin when we have a Conservative government but want to make a point of how much they dislike Labour ( and want other people to feel the same).

I agree with a lot of what you say MayBe70 but I do think the Conservatives lost the farmers and rural vote hugely in the last election. My area had been Tory for 70 years and now we have our first ever Labour MP. Vast swathes of the south of England went red or yellow.

Normally the farm land around me is papered in Tory posters prior to an election but last time - nothing.

Since Brexit many farmers lost faith in the Conservatives.

I think British farming needs help with the things you say - supermarkets, energy costs, the aging population of farmers, rural crime.....stuff the Tories didn't address I sincerely hope Labour will help and agree with a previous poster who said the IHT should apply only to those who own land they don't farm. Jeremy Clarkson types who use land to avoid IHT.

Farming's bloody hard and relentless.

I meant to mention that Conservative MP Therese Coffey was booed by the NFU conference when she was a useless Minister for Agriculture.

Maybee70

Farmers protest over supermarket milk prices
www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/business-18920667
2012

www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-shropshire-33776766
2015

www.theguardian.com/business/2016/feb/01/uk-dairy-farmers-to-march-on-downing-street-milk
2016

www.thescottishfarmer.co.uk/news/24064754.scarecrows-protest-outside-parliament-ahead-grocery-supply-chain-debate/
2024

www.greenpeace.org.uk/news/farmers-protest-greenpeace-comment/
2024

This is the final straw for many.

Churchview
Clarkson does in fact farm the land he owns.

Posters seem to equate him with private equity firms and the like who have no interest in the land they gobble up.

Allira I know he does. I'm referring to the article he wrote in which he said he'd invested in land so that " The government doesn’t get any of my money when I die.”

Allira

Maybee70

Farmers protest over supermarket milk prices
www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/business-18920667
2012

www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-shropshire-33776766
2015

www.theguardian.com/business/2016/feb/01/uk-dairy-farmers-to-march-on-downing-street-milk
2016

www.thescottishfarmer.co.uk/news/24064754.scarecrows-protest-outside-parliament-ahead-grocery-supply-chain-debate/
2024

www.greenpeace.org.uk/news/farmers-protest-greenpeace-comment/
2024

This is the final straw for many.

Thanks. I’m not aware of those protests making the news in the way the anti inheritance tax protests have, though, so maybe my argument is with the news media more than with the farmers. I do hope that the new tax will stop people like Dyson buying up so much land but I’m pretty useless when it comes to understanding anything to do with the law or economics ( I gave up doing both at A Level!). I have a friend that owns a small farm; I haven’t seen her for ages but it would be interesting to find out how she will be affected by all this.