Inheritance tax: ‘Betrayed’ farmers to protest in London

A larger event, which organisers say more than 10,000 people have registered for, is being held at Richmond Terrace and is expected to be addressed by speakers including the farmer and broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson.

The co-organiser of that rally, Staffordshire farmer Clive Bailye, told the BBC that it was set up to be a peaceful demonstration and had the public’s support.

But he warned, in the future, there could be more direct action-style protests by some farmers.

“They are at a point now where they have nothing to lose and they have got the infrastructure behind them to be able to cause a lot of problems,” he explained.

Victoria Atkins, Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said Labour had delivered a “budget of broken promises” that was “killing British farming”.

“Farmers can be asset rich, but cash poor,” she told the BBC’s Today Programme.

“They are not in it for the money – it’s a 365-day responsibility.”

The government has previously estimated just 500 of the UK’s wealthiest landowners would be affected by the change – a figure the Liberal Democrats called “utter rubbish”.

“The only way that people can pay the inheritance is get rid of the farm – so corporates buy it,” the party’s Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson Tim Farron told BBC Breakfast.

“It’s cruel, it’s unfair, it’s also incredibly stupid”.

The NFU has said figures from the Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (Defra) show 49% of farms in England had a net value of more than £1.5m, estimating that up to 70,000 farms could be affected in total.

A government spokesperson said it understood the concerns about the tax changes but insisted that “the majority of those claiming relief will not be affected by these changes”.

“This is a fair and balanced approach that protects the family farm while also fixing the public services that we all rely on,” she added.

The government has also said that combining tax reliefs and exemptions, depending on individual circumstances, could actually allow up to £3m to be passed on free of inheritance tax.

It added that any inheritance tax bill could be paid in instalments over a 10-year period.