Jeremy Clarkson arrives in Westminster as he leads 20,000 farmers in protest over inheritance tax changes
19 November 2024, 11:23 | Updated: 19 November 2024, 12:56
Jeremy Clarkson has arrived in Westminster to lead 20,000 farmers in protest against changes to inheritance tax.
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The Clarkson's Farm and former Top Gear presenter has joined protesting farmers against doctors' orders, after having recently had heart surgery.
Thousands arrived for the demonstration in central London, with some arriving in their tractors with signs plastered on the front.
One read "the final straw" while another said "tax war will break up farms - no farms, no food".
Clarkson held a sign saying "with our farmers" as he urged the government to "back down" over the tax changes.
When asked how bad the policy would be for farmers, he said: "It's the end."
He later went on to say Rachel Reeves had used a "blunderbuss" to hit farmers.
"If she'd have wanted to take out the likes of James Dyson and investment bankers and so on, she would have used a sniper's rifle, but she's used a blunderbuss and she's hit all this lot," Clarkson said.
"It was - as I understand it - it was a very rushed last-minute decision and I think we all make mistakes in life, and I think it's time for them to say 'you know what, we've c***ed this one up a bit' and back down."
James O'Brien wonders what the farmers' protest could mean come the next general election
Farming contractor Kaleb Cooper and land agent Charlie Ireland, who both work on Clarkson's Farm, also joined the protests on Tuesday.
Ireland said: "We've come to say please come and listen, get out onto a farm.
"Rachel Reeves, I'll take you around 100 farms, we will show you what it means."
The pair said the tax changes will discourage investment in the industry.
"If you don't get the investment, you will be hit with food shortages," Cooper said.
Other in attendance included newly-appointed Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Andrew Lloyd-Webber.
LIVE: Jeremy Clarkson gives stark warning as farm protest descends on Whitehall
Meanwhile, at a separate event at Church House in Westminster, National Farmers' Union (NFU) president Tom Bradshaw told members that changes to inheritance tax "will rip the heart of family farms".
Mr Bradshaw received a standing ovation from the gathered farmers after his impassioned speech, in which he said an estimated 75% of commercial farm businesses "were caught in the eye of this storm" of a policy which he described as a "stab in the back".
He said: "The impact for retail prices and shelf prices is going to have to be dramatic. It's an inflationary budget for food production and you in this group have nothing left to give.
"It's been nothing but a bad Budget and I've never seen anything like it in my lifetime."
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage told LBC that Tuesday's demonstrations needed to be "only the start".
"We need these kinds of peaceful demonstrations taking place in market towns all over the country," he said.
"Labour are vulnerable on this, they could ignore the hunting lobby years ago, they can’t ignore this with up to 100 rural seats."
He said his message to Ms Reeves was: "Your number crunchers in the Treasury have got their sums wrong – as they nearly always do – the little guys will survive, the agribusiness will survive, all these decent people here today will not survive this. It needs a rethink."
But Downing Street has maintained that changes to inheritance tax are "balanced and proportionate" and urged "caution" around "calculations that are done based on the value of assets alone".
Asked whether farmers protesting in Westminster had misunderstood the policy, a spokeswoman said: "Farmers are the stewards of our countryside and we do not underestimate their important contribution to the economy and also our rural economy.
"The Prime Minister has spoken about his personal commitment to farmers, evident from the increased £5 billion support we've committed over two years in the Budget.
"When it comes to the decisions that we've taken, we've not taken these lightly, but the Government inherited a £22 billion black hole in the public finances and we had to take difficult decisions to rebalance the public finances and also ensure we're supporting the public services that everyone relies on, farmers and families in rural communities included.
"As to the changes, we maintain that they are balanced and proportionate, and that only around 500 claims a year are expected to be affected."
Tom ponders inheritance tax changes that have outraged farmers
Many farmers have warned they may have to sell up after the Labour government’s decision to impose inheritance tax on farms valued above £1 million.
Farmers have expressed fears that the policy could spell the end of family-run farms, while ministers maintain that the measure will only impact large estates.
Farming leaders have denounced the decision as a "betrayal" of rural communities but emphasised that strikes causing food shortages are not their preferred course of action.
Ministers are preparing contingency measures to ensure supermarket shelves remain stocked as farmers escalate protests against a new inheritance tax policy. The government, however, has assured the public that food supplies will not be disrupted.
Inheritance tax threshold is a 'pernicious assault' on farmers says Save British farming spokesperson
The protest is one of the largest against Labour’s domestic agenda since the party returned to power.
This growing unrest comes nearly three weeks after the Budget announcement of the tax changes, with anger showing no signs of abating.
But the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has distanced itself from any plans to withhold produce from shops.
Mr Bradshaw said: “We do not support emptying supermarket shelves. However, I completely understand the strength of feeling. Farmers feel helpless and betrayed.”
Farming Minister Daniel Zeichner urged farmers to calm down, saying that “the vast majority will be fine” and criticising “extraordinary” claims about the numbers potentially affected.
“I urge people to look calmly at the detail and I think they will find that the vast majority will be fine,” Zeichner said on Sunday.
“The figures from the Treasury are very clear: under 500 farms a year are likely to be affected and I would say to people, take advice because every person’s situation is different and there will be many, many people who will find they are not actually going to be caught by this.”
Criticising claims that tens of thousands of farms would be impacted, Zeichner added: “People should look at the actual facts rather than the projections being made.”
