Jeremy Clarkson warns inheritance tax ‘the end’ for farmers as thousands march in fury

Jeremy Clarkson warns inheritance tax ‘the end’ for farmers as thousands march in fury

Jeremy Clarkson has urged the Labour government to “please back down” as he warned that the proposed inheritance tax hikes could be “the end” for farmers.

He has joined farmers for a large-scale protest in London on Tuesday to urge the government to change course over its plans, which have been described as a “stab in the back”.

First unveiled in chancellor Rachel Reeves’s Budget, the plans to impose inheritance tax on farms worth more than £1m have sparked fury among rural communities, who have contested the government’s assertion that small family farms will not be impacted by the changes.

The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has organised an event in which 1,800 of its members will meet with local MPs at Westminster to voice their anger on Tuesday, as thousands are also separately expected to stage a demonstration in Whitehall.

NFU president Tom Bradshaw said an estimated 75 per cent of commercial farm businesses “were caught in the eye of this storm” of a policy which will “rip the heart of family farms”.

The government argues that tax exemptions have led to wealthy non-farmers seizing agricultural land and pricing out genuine young farmers, and point to Budget funding of £5bn to help farmers produce food.

https://www.independent.co.uk/weather/uk-weather-forecast-snow-met-office-warning-live-b2649471.html