With Our Farmers #together
Start Date: 19/11/2024
Taxing family farms out of existence affects us all. We were among the crowd of up to 50,000 gathered in heavy rain outside Downing Street in protest against the new government imposing Inheritance Tax on farms, which will affect 75,000 farms and force many to sell up. Our food security is in danger and this policy needs a serious rethink.
Campaign Videos
This is a Fight the Farmers Are Going to Win
Labour Don’t Understand Farming
UK Farmers – What’s Really Happening
Farmers Are Fed Up and Furious
Farmer Protest: What Happened?
It’s Crucial This Tax is Axed
Overview
Before the election (and even after it) the Labour party was telling farmers they weren’t going to do this.
The combination of changes to both Agricultural Relief and Business Relief on Inheritance Tax is enormously damaging for family farms – and the Country Land & Business Association has calculated an enormous 70,000 will be affected – contrary to the claim that only 500 would be affected (a claim repeated and then withdrawn by the BBC).
This would force many farmers – who may appear asset rich on paper, but are cash poor and work extremely hard in difficult conditions for often meagre and uncertain reward – to close their farms and sell. And once they are gone, there is little chance of them coming back.
Food security is crucial, like energy security – and we are seeing what is happening already with that: rocketing prices and instability.
Local family farms are at the heart of local communities, and jobs and other small businesses rely on them, which is bad enough. But the sudden NEW removal of Business Relief on Inheritance Tax also impacts all our business sectors in Britain. All small and medium-sized businesses have a common interest in uniting together to challenge these damaging harmful impositions.
To add insult to injury, we learned that a larger amount than projected to be raised in a year from our farmers (approx. £500m) with these measures is to be sent by the Government to farming projects overseas. There is much that needs addressing in the UK but it doesn’t start with our hard-working, much loved farmers.
Family farms, the backbone of our country, are fighting for their very existence. They need our support, so please consider taking the actions outlined below.
Actions
Step 1
Join the Campaign Mailing List
Give us your email address so we can keep you informed on developments
Step 2
Attend rally on Sun 28 Sep
Join farmers and citizens protesting outside Labour conference in Liverpool
Step 4
Watch the Videos
If you haven't already done so, you can watch the videos on this page to understand what's going on
Background
How to Contact Your MP
Shoot a quick email to your MP now – we’ve made it dead easy for you:
STEP 1: Get ready to contact your MP / Ministers / Local councillors – use our tool here or manual process below
MPs: find your MP’s email address HERE
Councillors: use this tool HERE to send an email to all your local councillors in one go
To contact Emma Reynolds, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, mark for her attention and email: defra.helpline@defra.gov.uk
To contact Rachel Reeves, Chancellor, mark for her attention and email: public.enquiries@hmtreasury.gov.uk
To contact PM Keir Starmer – use the online form HERE
STEP 2: Write your message.
Always best when you write your own message but you can use any of the bits you like from our template below:
(Important: be sure to include your full postal address at the top of your email your MP knows you are a constituent.)
I am extremely concerned by the combination of changes to both Agricultural Relief and Business Relief on Inheritance Tax and the impact of this on family farms – and the has calculated an enormous 70,000 will be affected – contrary to the claim that only 500 would be affected (which was repeated and then withdrawn by the BBC).
This would force many farmers – who may appear asset rich on paper, but are cash poor and do extremely demanding work for often meagre and uncertain reward – to close their farms and sell. And once they are gone, there is little chance of them coming back.
Food security is crucial, like energy security – and we are seeing what is happening already with that: rocketing prices and instability.
Local family farms are at the heart of local communities, and jobs and other small businesses rely on them, making this threat bad enough. But the sudden new removal of Business Relief on Inheritance Tax also impacts all our business sectors in Britain.
To add insult to injury, we learned that a larger amount than projected to be raised in a year from our farmers (approx. £500m) with these measures is to be sent by the Government to farming projects overseas.
There is an awful lot that needs addressing in the UK but it doesn’t start with our hard-working farmers.
Before the election (and even after it) the Labour party was telling farmers they weren’t going to do this.
Will you support a rethink of this disastrous move?
STEP 3: Post on social media – tagging your MP in if you can
Adapt our template below – or write your own. Tag your local MP / councillor if you can, e.g. Just contacted my MP @jeremycorbyn about the farmers
Just contacted my MP about the family farms tax
Taxing family farms out of existence will affect us all
#AxeTheFamilyFarmsTax @uklabour @emmaforwycombe @rachelreevesmp
#together @togetherdec
Please note – the tag above works for Twitter but may need adjusting for other social media platforms.
Progress
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