Jeremy Clarkson is joining the farm Inheritance Tax protest – will it help?
Farmers are unhappy that the government is going to make them pay the tax for the first time – at half the usual rate, and with an exemption for the first £1 million worth of combined agricultural and business property.
That 20 per cent on agricultural and business property in a deceased person’s estate beyond a £1m threshold is still a much better deal than the standard Inheritance Tax rate of 40 per cent on anything above a threshold of £325,000.
Most of us can hardly dare to dream about having property worth £1 million before tax – especially after the last 14 years of Tories stopping us from earning decent wages and denying us any opportunities to buy assets that provide passive income either.
The chances of the vast majority of UK citizens having to pay Inheritance Tax are zero. One has to wonder how these farmers expect the rest of us to sympathise with their protest.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
Still, thousands of them are expected to arrive in Westminster on Tuesday (November 19, 2024), and if they bring their tractors, This Writer is looking forward to images and video of a mass blockade of Parliament.
They already staged a protest outside the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno – but the tractor turnout was disappointing, according to the images.
Clarkson apparently became a farmer partially because there was no Inheritance Tax for them – and in fairness, his series Clarkson’s Farm did highlight issues facing farmers.
But he seems to have attracted controversy after ranting about the changes – quoted in Metro as follows:
“In the past five years agricultural land has become the must-have accessory for people in suits. And because investment bankers tend to be quite rich, the prices have gone berserk.
“Round where I live, people have been paying £30,000 an acre. That means a 500-acre farm now goes for £15 million. And that doesn’t include the house. Or the barns. Or the equipment. That’s just the price of the land.”
Clarkson added that farmers have been “caught in the crossfire” and thousands of farmers’ children will have to sell the land in the future, despite learning everything about taking it over throughout their lives.
Speaking of Reeves, he added: “I think history will see her as the most stupid, blinkered idiot ever to occupy No 11.
“I’ll stop there, though. Because if I went on, I’d be guilty of a hate crime, and these days that’s a bigger offence than paedophilia or punching a constituent in the throat.”
He also advised farmers to look after themselves for “five short years”, after which “this shower will be gone”. He was referring to the Labour government, and considering the approval ratings for Keir Starmer’s version of that party, he might be right.
He’ll be banking on the Tories getting back in, though – and considering the mess they made of the country over the 14 years from 2010 to last July, he’ll probably lose even more money on that.
But with public feeling leaning heavily against both parties, what’s the alternative? Do we really want a gang of right-wing headbangers like Reform UK running the show?
Meanwhile, Starmer is saying farmers are denying other contributions Labour is making to their industry:
“We’ve put £5bn in the Budget for the next two years into farming. That is not to be overlooked. That is the single biggest sum of money in a Budget over a two-year period that has ever been put down in relation to farming.
“On top of that, there’s £50m in relation to flooding, which is hugely important and £200m in relation to the outbreak of disease and infection which can be absolutely devastating.”
The BBC’s Chris Mason says farmers are calling that argument “bunkum”, saying the money available now is comparable with funding when the UK left the European Union.
But weren’t farmers massively in favour of leaving the EU? Shouldn’t they therefore – at least partially – take the blame for the lack of increased funding that they are claiming?
Put it all together and this looks like nothing more than a tantrum by a gang of spoilt rich kids.
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Jeremy Clarkson is joining the farm Inheritance Tax protest – will it help?
Jeremy Clarkson is joining the farm Inheritance Tax protest – will it help?
Farmers are unhappy that the government is going to make them pay the tax for the first time – at half the usual rate, and with an exemption for the first £1 million worth of combined agricultural and business property.
That 20 per cent on agricultural and business property in a deceased person’s estate beyond a £1m threshold is still a much better deal than the standard Inheritance Tax rate of 40 per cent on anything above a threshold of £325,000.
Most of us can hardly dare to dream about having property worth £1 million before tax – especially after the last 14 years of Tories stopping us from earning decent wages and denying us any opportunities to buy assets that provide passive income either.
The chances of the vast majority of UK citizens having to pay Inheritance Tax are zero. One has to wonder how these farmers expect the rest of us to sympathise with their protest.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
Still, thousands of them are expected to arrive in Westminster on Tuesday (November 19, 2024), and if they bring their tractors, This Writer is looking forward to images and video of a mass blockade of Parliament.
They already staged a protest outside the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno – but the tractor turnout was disappointing, according to the images.
Clarkson apparently became a farmer partially because there was no Inheritance Tax for them – and in fairness, his series Clarkson’s Farm did highlight issues facing farmers.
But he seems to have attracted controversy after ranting about the changes – quoted in Metro as follows:
He also advised farmers to look after themselves for “five short years”, after which “this shower will be gone”. He was referring to the Labour government, and considering the approval ratings for Keir Starmer’s version of that party, he might be right.
He’ll be banking on the Tories getting back in, though – and considering the mess they made of the country over the 14 years from 2010 to last July, he’ll probably lose even more money on that.
But with public feeling leaning heavily against both parties, what’s the alternative? Do we really want a gang of right-wing headbangers like Reform UK running the show?
Meanwhile, Starmer is saying farmers are denying other contributions Labour is making to their industry:
The BBC’s Chris Mason says farmers are calling that argument “bunkum”, saying the money available now is comparable with funding when the UK left the European Union.
But weren’t farmers massively in favour of leaving the EU? Shouldn’t they therefore – at least partially – take the blame for the lack of increased funding that they are claiming?
Put it all together and this looks like nothing more than a tantrum by a gang of spoilt rich kids.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Follow Vox Political writer Mike Sivier on BlueSky
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
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