
Rift between farmers and government remains despite £2.7bn boost
Under the government's plans, from April 2026, inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1m, which were previously exempt, will be subject to inheritance tax at 20% - half the usual rate.NFU President Tom Bradshaw said: "At a time when we're increasing our defence spending that tells us we live in a volatile world."The other side is food security. We need to make sure we still continue to invest in this country's food production."He said it is not an "either/or" situation with regards to food or land management."I think they need to prioritise both at a time of global insecurity," he said.He said the government needs to "take the brakes off investment, because farms are investing in reservoirs, buildings and poultry sheds today".
"They are committed to food production for the next decade and beyond," he said."The relationship with the government is overshadowed by the budget and the announcement on inheritance tax and yesterday (the spending review) was another missed opportunity for the chancellor to recognise this needed to be changed," he said.Mr Bradshaw has criticised the "devastating family farm tax which will mean many farming families continue to be left in the lurch, unable to afford the future tax bill".He said there was a rift with the government despite being supportive of spending review and trade deals."On trade policy so far the government has looked after us pretty well," he said."They said they weren't going to cross those red lines on animal health and welfare standards and they have stuck to that."
Farming minister Daniel Zeichner MP (Lab, Cambridge) said: "Food security is vital to our national security, which is the foundation of our Plan for Change, and our commitment to farming remains steadfast."That's why we are investing £2.7bn a year into sustainable food production and nature's recovery, with funding for our Environmental Land Management schemes increasing by 150%."However, we must go further to support farmers across the country. "We are slashing costs for food producers to export to the EU, have appointed former NFU president Baroness Minette Batters to recommend reforms to boost farmers' profits, and we're ensuring farmers get a fair share of food contracts for our schools, hospitals, and prisons."
BBC Verify
Many of the claims from the government have been hotly contested by farmers, and BBC Verify has come under scrutiny over some of the figures it has relied on to try to establish the number of farms impacted by the change.The debate has revolved around estimates provided by farmers' groups, including that the new tax could "harm" up to 70,000 farms over time.BBC Verify found that the figure was likely to be somewhere closer to the number provided by the government - about 500 estates per year.Farmers' groups say the changes have been "built on bad data". The government says it wants to make the inheritance tax system fairer and discourage wealthy people from investing in land solely to avoid the tax.
BBC Politics East will be broadcast on Sunday 15 June at 10:00 GMT on BBC One in the East of England, and will be available after broadcast on BBC iPlayer.Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
4 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
UK is working with Jordan on plan to air drop aid into Gaza, Starmer tells France and Germany
Keir Starmer has confirmed the UK is working with Jordan on plans to air drop aid into Gaza and evacuate children needing medical assistance. The Prime Minister held emergency talks with his French and German counterparts on Saturday amid mounting global anger at the humanitarian conditions in the enclave where thousands of people are facing famine. During the call this morning, Starmer told Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz that it is 'vital to ensure robust plans are in place to turn an urgently-needed ceasefire into lasting peace'. 'The Prime Minister set out how the UK will also be taking forward plans to work with partners such as Jordan to air drop aid and evacuate children requiring medical assistance,' a Downing Street spokesperson said. The emergency meeting took place just hours after hundreds of people gathered in Whitehall on Friday to protest against the starvation of Palestinians by Israel. The 'Stop Starving Gaza Protest', organised by the Stop The War Coalition, saw a wave of protesters armed with pots, pans and other objects descend on Downing Street to place pressure on the Government to act. Sir Keir had earlier condemned the 'appalling' and 'unrelenting' conditions in Gaza where around 90,000 women and children are suffering from malnutrition, according to humanitarian organization the World Food Programme. 'The continued captivity of hostages, the starvation and denial of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, the increasing violence from extremist settler groups, and Israel's disproportionate military escalation in Gaza are all indefensible,' he added. Israel said on Friday it would allow airdrops of aid by foreign countries into Gaza to alleviate starvation in the Palestinian territory, where there is widespread devastation. However, the head of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency warned airdrops were 'a distraction and a smokescreen' that would fail to reverse deepening starvation in Gaza, and could in some cases harm civilians. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said on Saturday: 'A man-made hunger can only be addressed by political will. Lift the siege, open the gates and guarantee safe movements and dignified access to people in need.' The readout of today's meeting made no mention of the issue of Palestinian statehood, which the Prime Minister has faced calls to immediately recognise after French President Mr Macron confirmed his country would do so in September. However, Downing Street said the leaders had committed to 'work closely together on a plan' to 'pave the way to a long-term solution and security in the region'. Once the proposals have been 'worked up', they will seek to advance them with other key partners, including in the region, the readout said. Some 221 MPs from Labour, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, SNP, Greens, Plaid Cymru, SDLP and independents have signed a letter pressuring the Government to recognise a Palestinian state. Donald Trump suggested Mr Macron's announcement, which saw him commit to formally recognising Palestinian sovereignty at the UN General Assembly in September, 'doesn't matter' as he left the US for a visit to Scotland. Sarah Champion, the senior Labour MP who organised the letter by parliamentarians, said recognition 'would send a powerful symbolic message that we support the rights of the Palestinian people'. Other senior Commons figures who signed the letter include Labour select committee chairs Liam Byrne, Dame Emily Thornberry and Ruth Cadbury. Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey, as well as Tory former minister Kit Malthouse, and Sir Edward Leigh - Parliament's longest-serving MP - also signed it. The majority of those who have signed, 131, are Labour MPs. The Government has so far said its immediate focus is on getting aid into the territory and insisted that recognising sovereignty must be done as part of a peace process. Charities operating in Gaza have said Israel's blockade and ongoing military offensive are pushing people there towards starvation, warning that they are seeing their own workers and Palestinians 'waste away'. The Prime Minister will meet the US president during his trip to Scotland, where he arrived on Friday evening. US-led peace talks in Qatar were cut short on Thursday, with Washington's special envoy Steve Witkoff accusing Hamas of a 'lack of desire to reach a ceasefire'. The deal under discussion is expected to include a 60-day ceasefire in which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others in phases in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.


The Independent
6 minutes ago
- The Independent
Starmer says UK to help air drop aid into Gaza - but UN warns they could kill starving civilians
The UK is working with Jordan on plans to air drop aid into Gaza and evacuate children needing medical assistance, Sir Keir Starmer has announced. But the UN has warned has warned the focus on air drops is a 'distraction', and could lead to more deaths in the war-torn enclave. The prime minister held emergency talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Saturday amid mounting global anger at the starving population in the besieged enclave. In a readout of the call, a spokesperson for Sir Keir said the leaders had agreed 'it would be vital to ensure robust plans are in place to turn an urgently needed ceasefire into lasting peace'. The three leaders agreed the situation in Gaza is 'appalling', the readout said, adding there is an 'urgent need for an immediate ceasefire, for Israel to lift all restrictions on aid and urgently provide those suffering in Gaza with the food they so desperately need'. 'The prime minister set out how the UK will also be taking forward plans to work with partners such as Jordan to air drop aid and evacuate children requiring medical assistance,' the statement added. Israel said on Friday it will allow airdrops of aid by foreign countries into Gaza to alleviate starvation in the Palestinian territory. However, the head of the United Nations' Palestinian refugee agency Unrwa has criticised aid air drops, saying it 'will not reverse the deepening starvation" in Gaza. 'They are expensive, inefficient & can even kill starving civilians,' Philippe Lazzarini said. 'It is a distraction and screensmoke.' Instead, he suggested that the starvation in Gaza can only be solved through political will. "Lift the siege, open the gates and guarantee safe movements and dignified access to people in need,' he said. Mr Lazzarini said Unrwa has "the equivalent of 6,000 trucks" waiting for the "green light" into Gaza in Jordan, and Egypt. 'Driving aid through is much easier, more effective, faster, cheaper and safer,' he added. 'It's more dignified for the people of Gaza.' It comes as Israeli airstrikes and shootings overnight killed at least 25 people, according to Palestinian health officials. The majority of victims were killed by gunfire as they waited for aid trucks close to the Zikim crossing with Israel, staff at Shifa hospital said, where the bodies were brought. The UN and experts have warned that Palestinians in Gaza are at risk of famine, with reports of increasing numbers of people dying from causes related to malnutrition. Al-Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip said on Saturday that five people in Gaza have died due to famine and malnutrition in the past 24 hours. Gaza's Government Media Office also warned of an 'unprecedented and imminent humanitarian disaster' being committed by Israel. It said 100,000 children aged two years and under, including 40,000 babies, are at risk of death within days due to a lack of baby formula and nutritional supplements. The Israeli military says it is allowing aid into the enclave with no limit on the number of trucks that can enter. However, the UN said this is hampered by Israeli military restrictions on its movements and incidents of criminal looting. Israel is facing increased international pressure to alleviate the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza as US-led peace talks in Qatar were cut short on Thursday. Washington's special envoy Steve Witkoff accused Hamas of a 'lack of desire to reach a ceasefire'. The deal under discussion is expected to include a 60-day ceasefire in which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others in phases in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Aid supplies would be ramped up, and the two sides would hold negotiations on a lasting truce under the deal.

The Independent
6 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump ducks Maxwell pardon question as Democrats seek ‘birthday book' from Epstein estate: Live
Trump ducks question on Maxwell pardon, says media 'focused on conspiracy theories' After Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche interviewed sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's imprisoned former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, President Donald Trump said when asked about a possible pardon for the disgraced socialite: 'I don't know anything about the conversation.' 'A lot of people are asking me about pardons. Obviously, this is no time to be talking about pardons,' Trump continued. Those comments came after the president landed in Scotland for a golf vacation and trade talks. That followed him saying earlier Friday that he 'hasn't thought about' pardoning Maxwell, currently serving 20 years in jail for her role in Epstein's sex trafficking of minors. 'You're making a very big thing over something that's not a big thing,' Trump told reporters on the tarmac at Glasgow's Prestwick Airport. He said the media should be focused on other people with alleged links to Epstein, specifically singling out former President Bill Clinton, and adding: 'Don't talk about Trump.' The president also said he 'was never involved' in Republican House leadership adjourning for a lengthy vacation amid clamor for a vote to release documents in the Epstein case. 'I'm not focused on conspiracy theories that you are,' Trump said. Maxwell was 'asked about 100 different people' during her interview with the Department of Justice on Friday, her lawyer David Oscar Markus said Friday, outside the federal courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida. Ariana Baio has a full report here: Ghislaine Maxwell talked about '100 different people' during DOJ's Epstein interview Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking at a federal prison in Florida, faced a second day of questioning from Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general