The Lib Dem leader has urged the Chancellor to back down (Image: Getty)
Rachel Reeves has been urged to back farmers clobbered by her inheritance tax changes after new figures showed incomes have plummeted. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called for a new fund “to help farmers on the brink”.
He spoke out after an analysis of figures from the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs found that average livestock farming incomes fell by 20% in 2023-24, down from ￡491,600 to ￡391,100. The figures are partly a result of rising costs and tighter profit margins, with the price farmers are paid for milk falling.
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Farmers Protest Against Government Inheritance Tax Changes (Image: Getty)
In advance of their party conference in Bournemouth next month, Liberal Democrats are urging the government to set up a new Farming Innovation, Exchange, Learning and Development (FIELD) Fund to help farmers share know-how, navigate environmental farming schemes and improve their business viability. They say the find would support the next generation of farmers by passing on tips and tricks from the older generation and building a trusted network to support farmers throughout their career.
Lib Dems are also stepping up calls for the Government to scrap the planned Family Farm Tax, and to increase the farming budget by ￡1b billion a year to help support farms on the brink.
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Sir Ed said: “British farmers who put food on our tables and look after our countryside are being squeezed from all sides.
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“These communities are the backbone of our rural economy. In an ever more dangerous world to push so many of them to the wall threatens our national interests and food security.”
Ms Reeves has announced plans to cap tax reliefs which allow estates to significantly reduce the amount of inheritance tax paid on agricultural or business property.
It means hundreds of estates will pay more tax once the measure comes into force in 2026, raising ￡500 million annually for the Treasury. The National Farmers Union (NFU) has warned the measure threatens working family farms and will have “devastating and irreversible impacts”.
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Rachel Reeves asks tax fanatic to write her Budget - he wants to axe 'silly' triple lock
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Rachel Reeves eyes huge ￡2bn pension tax raid - check if you will be hit
Calls for '100% inheritance tax rate' spark fury - 'No right to mummy and daddy's money!'
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The 7 crazy policies backed by the Labour minister writing Rachel Reeves's Budget
Thousands of pensioners reclaim over ￡10,000 due to excessive tax charges on withdrawals
Rachel Reeves 'daft new IHT plot' slammed for 'turning grandparents into tax evaders'
Rachel Reeves asks tax fanatic to write her Budget - he wants to axe 'silly' triple lock
Rachel Reeves dealt huge blow as Kirstie Allsopp makes brutal comparison
Grieving households would face ￡100,000 HMRC bill over ‘gifts to family' rule
Brits call to stop Reeves's 'unfair double tax' of pension funds as thousands sign
Rachel Reeves's Budget guru wants 28% capital gains tax on your HOME - every time you move
Rachel Reeves eyeing pension pot nest eggs with raid on tax-free lump sum
Rachel Reeves ‘pushing ahead with tax raid' despite huge ￡10bn milestone looming
Rachel Reeves eyes huge ￡2bn pension tax raid - check if you will be hit
Calls for '100% inheritance tax rate' spark fury - 'No right to mummy and daddy's money!'
Rachel Reeves alerted inheritance tax raid could choke off lifeline for young families
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Thousands of pensioners reclaim over ￡10,000 due to excessive tax charges on withdrawals
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Rachel Reeves asks tax fanatic to write her Budget - he wants to axe 'silly' triple lock
Rachel Reeves dealt huge blow as Kirstie Allsopp makes brutal comparison
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Rachel Reeves ‘pushing ahead with tax raid' despite huge ￡10bn milestone looming
NFU President Tom Bradshaw will be attending the Labour Party Conference this year, with other senior figures attending Conservative, Reform and Liberal Democrat conferences.
NFU Deputy President David Exwood said: “We are grateful to the Liberal Democrats for continuing to put food and farming high on their political agenda. This support is so important at a time when farm business confidence is at an all-time low – extreme weather impacts and uncertainty around environment schemes have only been compounded by concerns that many farms will have no future after an unaffordable inheritance tax bill.
"The government still has time to make this right and protect our family farms, and we thank the Lib Dems and the other political parties which are pushing for this devastating policy to change.”
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