UK farmers ready extreme steps after Labour's shocking tax decision
British farmers prepare to block ports and hold back food supplies in response to new inheritance tax rules. The protest plans come after Labourʼs recent decision to remove long-standing tax breaks for farm estates
British farmers are planning wide-scale disruptions after Rachel Reeves new tax rules hit countryside hard. The chancellors decision to put 20% inheritance tax on farm assets (worth more than £1M) made lots of people angry – especially since farms used to have special tax breaks
In response many farmers plan to block UK ports and stop food deliveries to stores; some even think about keeping their produce and animals back. A farmer who knows about these plans said:
They will block every port in the UK if they have to
Clive Bailye who runs UKʼs biggest farm forum thinks farmers might take other steps too: not using sewage-sludge on fields or stopping food from leaving farms. Every year farms use about 3.6M tonnes of sewage-waste as fertilizer which helps water-companies a lot
The head of National Farmers Union Tom Bradshaw says his people feel let-down by Sir Keir Starmer; many hoped Labour would work with rural areas but now thats changed. About 1/4 of Labours MPʼs come from country areas – making this even more hard-hitting
The govt says they had to make hard choices because of money problems; only 500 claims each year will be hit and farm-couples can still pass on up to £3M without paying tax. But farmers dont seem happy with this answer and keep making protest-plans
