Hundreds of furious farmers rode tractors to a Labor Party conference in Wales to protest against the left-wing government's planned tax hikes on farmers.
Following in the footsteps of farmers' protests across Europe, tractors gathered outside the Labor Party conference in Llandudno, Wales, on Saturday in anger over Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government's plans to impose inheritance tax increases on farmers. North Wales Live reported. report.
Since 1984, family farms have been largely exempted from paying inheritance tax on farmland and agricultural buildings such as barns, cottages and houses. But under the new Labor government's tax reforms, farms valued at more than £1m (£2m for married couples) will face inheritance tax of 20%.
Finance Minister Rachel Reeves insisted the tax increase would only affect “a very small number of agricultural assets”. But farmers' organizations such as the National Farmers' Union have warned that many farmers will be forced to sell some of their land to pay the tax.
And while many farmers work for very little, the value of their land has been artificially inflated by the UK's housing crisis and the wealthy buying up farmland to avoid inheritance tax. Some argue that the tax unfairly punishes hard-working farmers. family.
Saturday's tractor protest featured tractors draped with placards that read “Labor War on the Countryside,'' “No Farmers, No Food,'' and “Labor Tax = No Food.''
Conwy Valley protesting farmer Aled Jones said outside the meeting: “Farmers work 70 hours a week for less than minimum wage. Their only advantage is that they can pass the farm on to their families.
“One percent of the population produces food for the rest of the country, and this policy that's been brought in is just a left-wing attempt to punish people who have some assets behind them. It seems to be a persistent policy. People are coming from all over the country (to protest).”
“This isn't about wanting money; we don't want money. You're charging us more money than we've ever had. They're charging people based on the value of something. I'm trying to tax it.
“They (HM Treasury) say the number of farms affected is very small, but the NFU (National Farmers Union of England and Wales) expects over 70 per cent of farms to be affected. This is in Wales. Land has no value unless it is sold, and you (the British government) are trying to tax it. ”
Despite this, Starmer told a party conference in Wales: “I will defend our decisions in the Budget all day long.”
“I will champion the tough decisions needed to stabilize our economy, protect working people’s paychecks, rebuild the foundations of our economy and invest in the future of England and Wales, and finally turn the page.” It’s definitely austerity,” Starmer added.
Farmers have the backing of Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK party. Mr Farage's populist party seeks to draw disaffected working-class people in Wales away from the increasingly urban-elitist Labor Party. Mr Farage claimed Mr Starmer was trying to force farmers to close and seize their land to build new housing projects for migrants.
