Suffolk farmer joins thousands in protest against inheritance tax changes
John Watt was one of 13,000 who descended upon Westminster yesterday
Farmers from across the UK gathered in London yesterday to protest proposed changes to inheritance tax laws, which they argue threaten the future of farming and rural communities.
Among the crowd was John Watt, a farmer from Laxfield, who shared his concerns about the policy’s impact on food security and the continuity of British agriculture.
Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio, he talked about a meeting he attended with Waveney Valley MP Adrian Ramsay: "It was very emotional and I have mixed feelings about it.
"We put across our case and you saw grown men in tears about the destruction of the businesses that them, their fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers have worked tirelessly to build up being totally destroyed by this budget."
The government’s plan would impose inheritance tax on land exceeding £1 million in value, a threshold farmers say is easily surpassed given current land prices.
He hopes Mr Ramsay will side with farmers during a vote on the policy: "I think he does support us.
"There's a lot of common ground between the environmental work that he, as a Green Party MP, wants to do, and us as farmers, who are stewards and guardians for the land we work.
"The simple answer has to be that every MP has to vote against this budget and it won't happen.
"That was the ask that I didn't get."
At a rally in Whitehall, Mr Watt joined approximately 13,000 demonstrators to make their voices heard.
Critics argue the government is disconnected from the realities of rural life.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said:
"Firstly, £5 billion was set aside in the Budget over the next two years for farming.
"That is the single-biggest amount of money into farming and sustainable food production that has ever been set aside in any Budget, ever. So that's a real statement of intent in terms of supporting farmers.
"There's also money to deal with flooding, which is a huge problem for farmers, and money to deal with the outbreak of disease, which can be catastrophic for farmers if they lose their livestock.
"On the question of inheritance tax, the example I've given is a typical example of parents wanting to pass on a farm to one of their children, and in those cases, when you look at all the thresholds available, that means that only farms over the value of £3 million will be affected by the changes, and therefore the vast majority of farms will be unaffected, and those that are affected will only pay half the inheritance tax that other people pay- 20% - and they will have a 10-year period over which to pay it.
"And so that's why I'm very confident in saying that the vast majority will not be affected. How farmers then arrange their affairs within their family is obviously a matter for them."