February 25, 2025 • 7 mins
Our UK farming correspondent is coming in hot, off after the National Farmers Union (NFU) Annual Meeting in London, where farmers are up in arms over the new inheritance tax.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
He's a UK farming correspondent, farmer Tom Martin very big
and social media circles, But who would want to be
a farmer in the UK at the moment, Tom, I
thought our last labor government was bad for farming. They've
got nothing on Sakia Starmer's lot. He's trying to wipe
farming off the face of the earth in the UK.
You've just finished your National Farmers' Union and your conference
(00:22):
in London.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
That all kicked off well, Jamie, we Albrits. After all,
it was relatively respectful, but there was a lot of
anger in the room, I can tell you, and not frustration,
not upset, but real anger. It's an existential crisis for
us here in UK farming at the moment.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
You're telling me that British farmer confidence or UK farmer
confidence is at an all time low.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
That's right. I mean confidence is important because it allows
us to plan long term, to strategize, to invest, and
let me tell you there's almost no investment happening at
the moment because we just don't know if we're going
to be here next year or well, you know, when
we move to the farm moves to the next generation.
We won't be able to and that's the problem. We
now have this inheritance tax being levied from April twenty
(01:07):
twenty six, potentially twenty percent, and it will absolutely cripple us.
With farm margins at zero point five to one percent average,
I say average, We're just not going to be able
to pay this tax, and it will send family farm
businesses to the wall.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
I was watching a video on YouTube, I think from
the Telegraph who were covering the inf you the National Farmers'
Union conference, and they were talking about a ninety year
old woman who had farmed all a life and she
wanted to pass the farm down to the next generation.
And basically to make that happen, she had to die
before as sad as the sounds had to die before
(01:45):
April twenty twenty six.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
That's right. For the last forty years we've had this
inheritance tax exemption, which basically means that farmers can confidently invest,
grow and do everything that we want to do to
do all the great jobs we do. Produce nutritiou food,
protect environment, all this stuff. This before, but so the
advice has been to farm to your grave and then
you have the ability to pass the farm onto the
(02:07):
next generation. Well that's just gone with the stroke of
a pen. And because it didn't go immediately, it goes
on April twenty twenty six. If you are still alive
in April twenty twenty six, you will succumb to this.
And there have been it's ridiculous, there have been. You know,
there are the older generations who've worked all their lives
to build up this farm business, support their family and
they'd be better off not making it past the thirty
(02:30):
first of March. And it feels almost a bit flippant,
a bit ridiculous to be saying that, but there are
you know, there have been some terrible, absolutely awful stories.
And I've been hearing across the farming community here in
the UK.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
You've got seventy million people or something like that on
your island. What about food security? What about that? Doesn't
the labor government get.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
Well? Quite We're I think we're fifty eight percent self
sufficient at the moment. Obviously there are some things we
can't grow, but we're we're a nation, you know, we're
in a nation of farmers, with farming this land, these
islands for you know, one hundreds thousands of years. It's
a huge challenge. The government talks about one of their
key pillars being growth, but in order to grow, you
(03:14):
need confidence and there's no confidence in farming at all
at the moment. One of the key messages from Steve
Ree today, who's the Secretary of State for the Environment
for DEFORA Department for Environment and Food and Rural Affairs,
was that he wants to improve profitability. I will consider
it a failure of my time as Secretary of State
if I do not improve farmer productivity. Well there was
a laugh across the room because we're not going to
(03:36):
make it. It's not about just a sticking plast that
you know. The arm has been amputated, it's gone and
it's been a real, real challenge. One of the things
he was talking about was increasing public procurement, sourcing food
for the major public sectors locally. Well, the French government
did that in twenty ten when the Labor Party were
laughed in, so it's pretty old news. It's not something
(03:58):
new and exciting. He was talking about ensuring that we
maintain our standards in international food deals now and trade deals.
We've spoken about trade deals before and we Jamie, he said,
we will be maintaining our standards. And when he was
questioned and said do you mean maintaining our standards or
ensuring that food imported to the UK adheres to the
(04:19):
standards that UK farmers have to adhere to, he said, yeah,
well we're going to be maintaining our standards. Like I said, so,
I just have below zero confidence. There's no confidence whatsoever.
And that's echoed across the farming community, businesses large and small,
all sectors. It's as bad as he's ever been.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
So is there any chance at all that the labor
government will step back on this inheritance text because it
seems to be the major sticking point.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
There's always a chance, and I would say to them
there is no shame in changing your mind. Various different
industry bodies sectors have come out, The Confederation of British Industry,
the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers, Country and Land Business Association,
Independent Labor Economist Advisors have all come out and said
this is not going to achieve what it was supposed
(05:07):
to achieve, raising tax revenue of five hundred million a
year and protecting family farms whilst making it more difficult
for people to avoid tax avoid inheritance tax by putting
their money into farmland. And actually this week, sorry, last week,
the UK farming unions went to the Treasury with another
(05:28):
suggestion which would generate more tax, but would mean that
the tax was payable on land sale within a certain
number of years of someone passing, rather than at the
time of death. And they were roundly just turned away,
sent off, the door closed behind them, and absolutely nothing
has happened at all. So I don't know, it's difficult.
(05:50):
It feels like they're digging in for the long haul,
but there is no shame in changing your mind.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
A final comment from the outside looking and from me,
Sakia Starmer, the leader, your prime minister seems to be
more concerned about Ukraine glad handing on the world stage
than he does about British farmers.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Yeah, and you know he's our figurehead. We've we've we've
talked about your your different prime ministers down in New Zealand,
and you know his role is an international role. And
meanwhile the rest of his cabinet run the country. So
I do see that. But it's very frustrating as a
as a British citizen seeing millions of pounds being given
away all over the place, only to find that we're
(06:31):
you know, we're we're really having well, we're really being
torn apart in the in the UK farming sector. It's
it's it's pretty diret it's pretty ridiculous. And when we
look internationally, well, New Zealand doesn't even have any inheritance tax,
they don't have capital gains tax as far as I'm aware,
So it just feels I don't know, it just feels ridiculous.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Yeah, I'm glad I live here, not there, or trying
to farm over there would be impossible. Tom, all the
best springs just around the corner. I hope the farm
in season treats you well.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Thanks, we'll plant again, but gosh, it's going to be
a tough one.
He's a UK farming correspondent, farmer Tom Martin very big
and social media circles, But who would want to be
a farmer in the UK at the moment, Tom, I
thought our last labor government was bad for farming. They've
got nothing on Sakia Starmer's lot. He's trying to wipe
farming off the face of the earth in the UK.
You've just finished your National Farmers' Union and your conference
(00:22):
in London.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
That all kicked off well, Jamie, we Albrits. After all,
it was relatively respectful, but there was a lot of
anger in the room, I can tell you, and not frustration,
not upset, but real anger. It's an existential crisis for
us here in UK farming at the moment.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
You're telling me that British farmer confidence or UK farmer
confidence is at an all time low.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
That's right. I mean confidence is important because it allows
us to plan long term, to strategize, to invest, and
let me tell you there's almost no investment happening at
the moment because we just don't know if we're going
to be here next year or well, you know, when
we move to the farm moves to the next generation.
We won't be able to and that's the problem. We
now have this inheritance tax being levied from April twenty
(01:07):
twenty six, potentially twenty percent, and it will absolutely cripple us.
With farm margins at zero point five to one percent average,
I say average, We're just not going to be able
to pay this tax, and it will send family farm
businesses to the wall.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
I was watching a video on YouTube, I think from
the Telegraph who were covering the inf you the National Farmers'
Union conference, and they were talking about a ninety year
old woman who had farmed all a life and she
wanted to pass the farm down to the next generation.
And basically to make that happen, she had to die
before as sad as the sounds had to die before
(01:45):
April twenty twenty six.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
That's right. For the last forty years we've had this
inheritance tax exemption, which basically means that farmers can confidently invest,
grow and do everything that we want to do to
do all the great jobs we do. Produce nutritiou food,
protect environment, all this stuff. This before, but so the
advice has been to farm to your grave and then
you have the ability to pass the farm onto the
(02:07):
next generation. Well that's just gone with the stroke of
a pen. And because it didn't go immediately, it goes
on April twenty twenty six. If you are still alive
in April twenty twenty six, you will succumb to this.
And there have been it's ridiculous, there have been. You know,
there are the older generations who've worked all their lives
to build up this farm business, support their family and
they'd be better off not making it past the thirty
(02:30):
first of March. And it feels almost a bit flippant,
a bit ridiculous to be saying that, but there are
you know, there have been some terrible, absolutely awful stories.
And I've been hearing across the farming community here in
the UK.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
You've got seventy million people or something like that on
your island. What about food security? What about that? Doesn't
the labor government get.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
Well? Quite We're I think we're fifty eight percent self
sufficient at the moment. Obviously there are some things we
can't grow, but we're we're a nation, you know, we're
in a nation of farmers, with farming this land, these
islands for you know, one hundreds thousands of years. It's
a huge challenge. The government talks about one of their
key pillars being growth, but in order to grow, you
(03:14):
need confidence and there's no confidence in farming at all
at the moment. One of the key messages from Steve
Ree today, who's the Secretary of State for the Environment
for DEFORA Department for Environment and Food and Rural Affairs,
was that he wants to improve profitability. I will consider
it a failure of my time as Secretary of State
if I do not improve farmer productivity. Well there was
a laugh across the room because we're not going to
(03:36):
make it. It's not about just a sticking plast that
you know. The arm has been amputated, it's gone and
it's been a real, real challenge. One of the things
he was talking about was increasing public procurement, sourcing food
for the major public sectors locally. Well, the French government
did that in twenty ten when the Labor Party were
laughed in, so it's pretty old news. It's not something
(03:58):
new and exciting. He was talking about ensuring that we
maintain our standards in international food deals now and trade deals.
We've spoken about trade deals before and we Jamie, he said,
we will be maintaining our standards. And when he was
questioned and said do you mean maintaining our standards or
ensuring that food imported to the UK adheres to the
(04:19):
standards that UK farmers have to adhere to, he said, yeah,
well we're going to be maintaining our standards. Like I said, so,
I just have below zero confidence. There's no confidence whatsoever.
And that's echoed across the farming community, businesses large and small,
all sectors. It's as bad as he's ever been.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
So is there any chance at all that the labor
government will step back on this inheritance text because it
seems to be the major sticking point.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
There's always a chance, and I would say to them
there is no shame in changing your mind. Various different
industry bodies sectors have come out, The Confederation of British Industry,
the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers, Country and Land Business Association,
Independent Labor Economist Advisors have all come out and said
this is not going to achieve what it was supposed
(05:07):
to achieve, raising tax revenue of five hundred million a
year and protecting family farms whilst making it more difficult
for people to avoid tax avoid inheritance tax by putting
their money into farmland. And actually this week, sorry, last week,
the UK farming unions went to the Treasury with another
(05:28):
suggestion which would generate more tax, but would mean that
the tax was payable on land sale within a certain
number of years of someone passing, rather than at the
time of death. And they were roundly just turned away,
sent off, the door closed behind them, and absolutely nothing
has happened at all. So I don't know, it's difficult.
(05:50):
It feels like they're digging in for the long haul,
but there is no shame in changing your mind.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
A final comment from the outside looking and from me,
Sakia Starmer, the leader, your prime minister seems to be
more concerned about Ukraine glad handing on the world stage
than he does about British farmers.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Yeah, and you know he's our figurehead. We've we've we've
talked about your your different prime ministers down in New Zealand,
and you know his role is an international role. And
meanwhile the rest of his cabinet run the country. So
I do see that. But it's very frustrating as a
as a British citizen seeing millions of pounds being given
away all over the place, only to find that we're
(06:31):
you know, we're we're really having well, we're really being
torn apart in the in the UK farming sector. It's
it's it's pretty diret it's pretty ridiculous. And when we
look internationally, well, New Zealand doesn't even have any inheritance tax,
they don't have capital gains tax as far as I'm aware,
So it just feels I don't know, it just feels ridiculous.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Yeah, I'm glad I live here, not there, or trying
to farm over there would be impossible. Tom, all the
best springs just around the corner. I hope the farm
in season treats you well.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Thanks, we'll plant again, but gosh, it's going to be
a tough one.
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