Gransnet forums

News & politics

The Farmers Fight

(793 Posts)
Sarnia Mon 18-Nov-24 08:46:41

Infuriated farmers will be protesting against Labour's 'Tractor Tax' opposite Downing Street tomorrow. They are being asked not to bring farm machinery but I hope they clutter up Whitehall with every tractor and combine harvester they can lay their hands on. Reeves claims 'only' 20% of farms will be affected by her latest smash and grab raid but economists say it is nearer 70%. Has it not figured in her brain that if farmers, who already struggle to make ends meet, chuck in the towel, there will be a serious food shortage?

theworriedwell Sat 23-Nov-24 12:24:40

I don't know any farmers so this might be a daft idea but if you are a farmer on a family farm why don't you gradually give you child/children who work on the farm shares in the business? You could work up to you still being the majority share holder with your child/children working up to owning 49% of the farm. Wouldn't that mean no IHT on a farm worth up to £3m, if it is true that you can have up to £3m IHT free.

Once you are ready to retire you could become the minority shareholder.

foxie48 Sat 23-Nov-24 13:45:32

Wyllow3 one became an equestrian yard but took a few store cattle, another has retired and rents out the land which is used mainly for sheep, hay and haylage, I also know of one where the land is rented out to someone who grows herbs for the ready meal industry. Another local farmer stopped farming, he wasn't dairy, and he developed a small caravan storage business and rented out his land for cattle mainly. None of these changes are recent, most were more than a decade ago.

foxie48 Sat 23-Nov-24 13:49:58

I should add that it's very easy to put up agricultural buildings under the 5 hectares rule (just over 12 acres) and tbh once they are up no one is really interested in what they are actually being used for so I know of several farms that store all sorts of things from legal documents to wine.

HousePlantQueen Sat 23-Nov-24 14:06:49

keepingquiet

She had just been to a party in the British museum with the Archbishop of Canterbury...

No she hadn't. That was Ian Hislop

HousePlantQueen Sat 23-Nov-24 14:08:18

Allira

HousePlantQueen

Maizie? Posh? Were you watching the same programme as I was?

Do you anything about know her background?

No, do you?

eddiecat78 Sat 23-Nov-24 14:11:28

I find Maisie really inspirational as, like my granddaughter, she developed epilepsy a teenager. I've been very reassured seeing how much she has achieved despite this

Wyllow3 Sat 23-Nov-24 14:11:35

Thank you for replying foxie. It's basically a "mixed" answer in terms of continuing food production, isnt it. I think it's significant just how long this has been going on for.

It does occur the farmer's demonstration isn't just about IT right now, its a long term issue on where we get food from, production costs, and land costs, and the enduring feelings about connection to our land being broken.

MayBee70 Sat 23-Nov-24 14:35:07

HousePlantQueen

keepingquiet

She had just been to a party in the British museum with the Archbishop of Canterbury...

No she hadn't. That was Ian Hislop

It just goes to show how misinformation can spread like wildfire across the internet when a group of people can watch a tv programme and soon afterwards come up with different interpretations about the content of that programme.

Allira Sat 23-Nov-24 14:48:57

HousePlantQueen

Allira

HousePlantQueen

Maizie? Posh? Were you watching the same programme as I was?

Do you anything about know her background?

No, do you?

Yes.

MayBee70 Sat 23-Nov-24 14:51:05

Allira

HousePlantQueen

Allira

HousePlantQueen

Maizie? Posh? Were you watching the same programme as I was?

Do you anything about know her background?

No, do you?

Yes.

So, what do you know that we don’t?

Allira Sat 23-Nov-24 15:16:06

Perhaps your idea of posh is different from mine.

There are posters who think farmers are posh because they wear Barbour jackets.
Anyone can wear a Barbour jacket.

I think having titled relatives and relatives in high places is posh.

We all have different standards.

MayBee70 Sat 23-Nov-24 15:41:12

Her posh grandfather
‘Sir Lawrence Byford CBE QPM DL (10 August 1925 – 10 February 2018) was an English police officer who served as Chief Inspector of Constabulary from 1983 to 1987.[1] His inquiry into the failings of the Yorkshire Ripper investigation by West Yorkshire Police earned him the description "the man who changed the face of modern policing" because it "led to fundamental changes in the way serial killer investigations would be carried out in future across the world".[2][3]

Early life
Byford was born the son of a coal miner in Normanton, West Riding of Yorkshire.[4] He left school without any qualifications and became an apprentice electrician at a local pit. In 1944, Byford was conscripted and saw service during the latter months of World War II with the Royal Signals in France, Belgium and Germany.[2]’

MayBee70 Sat 23-Nov-24 15:46:34

Her uncle
‘By Ford was born in Castleford, Yorkshire. He spent his early years living around the West Riding of Yorkshire, where his father, Sir Lawrence Byford, served as a policeman. Sir Lawrence went on to become Chief Constable of Lincolnshire, and later, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary. Mark was educated at Lincoln School which later became Lincoln Christ's Hospital Comprehensive School.[1]

He returned to West Yorkshire in 1976, studying law at the University of Leeds, where he was president of Devonshire Hall. Immediately on graduating he joined the BBC in 1979, aged 20, as a "temporary holiday relief assistant" working as a researcher over the summer holiday in his local (Look North) television newsroom in Leeds. After three months' vacation work, he joined the BBC full-time.’
Strike me as a family that have achieved what they have by hard work and intelligence, not inherited wealth.

Allira Sat 23-Nov-24 15:56:24

Posh.

LizzieDrip Sat 23-Nov-24 15:58:38

‘Posh’ is an interesting social construct, largely defined by your behaviour rather than who your parents are / were, or even by how rich you are. I wouldn’t imagine most people think farmers are ‘posh’. I certainly don’t.

Here’s the result of a survey asking people what they think makes someone posh. Makes interesting reading:

“A 2021 nationwide study of 2,000 people by Perspectus Global found that the top 20 signs of “poshness” are…

1. You went to boarding school – 34 per cent

2. You have antiques and family heirlooms – 28 per cent

3. You have a wine cellar – 26 per cent

4. You have paintings of your ancestors – 26 per cent

5. You belong to an old private members club – 25 per cent

6. You NEVER discuss money – 25 per cent

7. You call your parents ‘mummy’ and ‘daddy’, even when you are an adult – 24 per cent

8. You have a family coat of arms – 23 per cent

9. You ride horses – 22 per cent

10. Your dinner parties are catered – 22 per cent

They also tend to laugh very loudly, use loose leaf tea – rather than teabags – say ‘supper’ instead of dinner and call the toilet “the loo”…”

Of course, as with any social construct, the notion of ‘poshness’ is loaded with stereotypes. Just like ‘working class’ stereotypes, they can be very mixed up in 21st Century UK.

Allira Sat 23-Nov-24 16:01:12

You forgot:

Wear a Barbour jacket

LizzieDrip Sat 23-Nov-24 16:07:12

I don’t think Maisie Adam’s fits into the ‘posh stereotype’. But, even if she does, does that make her an ‘awful’ person? I don’t think so.

Posh, out of touch, no clue. Her food arrives pre-packaged on a supermarket shelf. Awful woman Allira why so judgemental?

Allira Sat 23-Nov-24 16:10:56

LizzieDrip

I don’t think Maisie Adam’s fits into the ‘posh stereotype’. But, even if she does, does that make her an ‘awful’ person? I don’t think so.

Posh, out of touch, no clue. Her food arrives pre-packaged on a supermarket shelf. Awful woman Allira why so judgemental?

😂😂😂

Oh, that is priceless!
So much judgement on GN of so many, and I get picked up and challenged for not liking what a TV personality said.

😂

LizzieDrip Sat 23-Nov-24 16:14:53

You forgot: Wear a Barbour jacket

No Allira I didn’t. The list I gave above is from a survey - not my words.

I absolutely don’t think someone is ‘posh’ because they wear a Barbour jacket. That would be a ridiculously small-minded conclusion to come to.

HousePlantQueen Sat 23-Nov-24 16:19:45

Allira

Posh.

Interesting interpretation. Mine is that Maisie was born into a family of hard working high achievers who were rightfully recognised for this, she is lucky, fortunate, but not posh, whatever that horrid word means

LizzieDrip Sat 23-Nov-24 16:20:50

Allira all opinions on GN are equally valid, unless they’re offensive.

Allira Sat 23-Nov-24 16:22:47

Posh:

Port Out Starboard Home

LizzieDrip Sat 23-Nov-24 16:25:00

I agree HPQ it is a horrid word.

I’d like to think that we’re all determined by our actions, words and behaviour towards others - not by some daft 19th Century construct of superiority!

Allira Sat 23-Nov-24 16:31:42

Oh do give it a rest please.

I just happened to comment on a woman who was sneering on a TV programme and you are turning it into a campaign of online bullying.

LizzieDrip Sat 23-Nov-24 16:42:18

I thought this was meant to be a discussion forum, where different views can be aired -
but feel free to report me Allira if you believe I’m bullying you online.