Some farmers are considering extreme measures like blockading ports or causing food shortages in protest to recent changes made to the budget, reports have suggested.
Measures including ‘tractor go-slows’ and a strike on spreading sewage are also being mooted by some “hardcore” groups of farmers angry at the chancellor’s planned changes to inheritance tax, Sky News reported.
Speaking to the news channel ahead of a planned rally by farmers in London later this month, Clive Bailye, founder of The Farming Forum, which he described as the ‘Mumsnet for farmers’, said some “hardcore groups” were demanding more “militant” action akin to action taken in Europe, including tractor blockades.
He told Sky News: “Farmers have the ability to do this with tractors and large machinery all over the country, blocking roads, go-slows with tractors, blocking ports and routes to airports.”
How did the budget affect farmers?
In the recent budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced changes to Agricultural Property Relief (APR), which effectively reduced the amount of inheritance tax paid by farmers and landowners.
The changes mean that an inheritance tax of 50%, at an effective rate of 20%, will be imposed on farms worth over £1million, which had previously been exempt.
Other changes include adjustments to direct subsidies, which farming campaigners say puts extra pressure on farmers already struggling with labour shortages and rising operational costs, as well as rises to the National Living Wage which they say will further affect them.
What do farmers say?
Changes announced in the budget have sparked an outcry from farmers and rural communities, who say the changes will have a “catastrophic” impact on farmers and family owned farms, and potentially lead to food price rises.
Many, including Jeremy Clarkson, have argued that while Reeves’s policy is aimed at wealthy landowners, it also risks harming family-owned farms, with some potentially forced to sell their farms to pay Inheritance Tax Bills.
NFU President Tom Bradshaw said: “This Budget not only threatens family farms but will also make producing food more expensive. This means more cost for farmers who simply cannot absorb it, and it will have to be borne by someone. Farmers are down to the bone and gristle, who is going to carry these costs?
“It’s clear the government does not understand that family farms are not only small farms, and that just because a farm is a valuable asset it doesn’t mean those who work it are wealthy.
“Let’s not sugar-coat this, every penny the chancellor saves from this will come directly from the next generation having to break-up their family farm. This is one of a number of measures in the budget which make it harder for farmers to stay in business and significantly increase the cost of producing food.”
What does the government say?
The government has said that farmers still benefit from a “generous” tax regime, with a Downing Street spokeswoman previously saying that three quarters of farms would remain unaffected by the changes.
The spokeswoman said “only a very small number of agricultural properties” will be affected and “difficult decisions” were needed in order to fix public services and place the economy on a firmer footing.
What could happen next?
The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has planned a “mass lobby” event on 19 November for its members to petition MPs to overturn the budget changes, which is expected to see 1,800 members turn out.
The union has said the lobby is ‘just start of the fight’, and added that it is now at full capacity so people who have not already registered should not travel to London, but wait for the next opportunity.
Bailye is one of the organisers of a splinter event that is set to set place on the same day, potentially involving more than 10,000 people marking through the capital due to restrictions on the mass lobby event.
He said: “We don’t want to upset or cause problems, we just want to feed people. We’re trying to do this the right way first. Who knows what will happen after that?”