Farmers in tractors take part in a protest over the changes to inheritance tax rules (Image: PA )
A convoy of tractors has rolled up outside a ‘ conference to protest against the Labour Government.
Tractors honked their horns outside the Examinations School in Oxford as Environment Secretary Steve Reed was quizzed by farmers at the Oxford Farming Conference inside.
The tractors could be heard inside the venue as Mr Reed apologised to farmers, admitting changes to taken by the new Government had .
He said: “We want to make it easier for all farmers to meet the challenges of the transition and run successful businesses. But what I’m hearing from so many is that the turmoil of recent years has made farming incredibly tough.
“I recognise the anger when last year, but it wasn’t just about tax.”
Mr Reed told farmers the Government recognises the primary purpose of farming is food production and outlined measures to boost profits in a bid to mend relations with the sector.
Steve Reed says he recognises farmers’ anger (Image: PA)
Oxfordshire farmers, Heidi and Jonathan Smith, hope to hand their farm down to their children. The couple dismissed the Government’s plans for a “new deal” as they joined the protest. Mrs Smith said: “What new deal? Is there a new deal? Tell me?”
She joined others at the protest to say the only issue they want to see on the table is inheritance tax, adding Mr Reed’s announcement “doesn’t bare any relation to reality”.
The farmer said: “They need to listen and they actually need to look at the figures properly and realise that its an industry that doesn’t make a lot of income on their assets.”
On her children inheriting their farm, she said: “At the moment they wouldn’t be able to afford the inheritance tax without selling a huge chunk of the farm and once you’ve sold that huge chunk of land what are they going to make their income on. The threshold is ridiculous.”
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Heidi and Jonathan Smith hope to hand their farm down to their children (Image: PA)
Victoria Vyvyan, President of the Country Land and Business Association, warned farm businesses face having profits “wiped out” by inheritance tax bills.
She said: “Capping vital inheritance tax reliefs will threaten their viability and not deliver the growth and investment the Government says it wants to achieve.
“Farmers are playing their part in enhancing the environment and delivering public goods, but they also need to be able to run viable, profitable businesses. The Government’s freezing of the farming budget and lack of ambition for the rural economy is hitting confidence.”
She urged the Government to invest in productivity, strike new trade deals and defend farms from drought and flood.
The Government ‘needs to listen’ to Britain’s farmers (Image: PA)
Mr Reed acknowledged farmers are battling input costs, tight margins, unfair supply chains, a shortage of skilled workers, growing concerns about extreme weather and issues with access to European markets as well as with post- trade deals.
The Secretary of State repeated Labour’s claims of a £22billion black hole in the nation’s finances, which he said meant the Government “had to take immediate tough decisions across the economy to balance the books”.
He said: “We were shocked by the size of the financial black hole we were left to fill, and I’m sorry that some of the action we had to take shocked you in turn, but stable finances are the foundation of the economic growth needed.”
A furious backlash was sparked after Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced plans to introduce inheritance tax for agricultural businesses worth more than £1million and a faster phaseout of EU-era subsidies in favour of environmental payments.
Some farmers have said the changes threaten food security while concerns have been raised that government policy in recent years has prioritised nature protection and other land uses over food production.