UFU slam PM’s remarks on inheritance tax and NHS

Commenting, Ulster Farmers’ Union president William Irvine said: “The remarks made by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, that Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief are ‘a tax break for farmers’, are absolutely inaccurate and misleading.

"His choice of words coupled with his immense position of power, have huge potential to damage the public’s perception and relationship with farmers. Our Prime Minister is well aware that APR and BPR are designed so that family farms can stay in business and continue to produce food for the public. No farm family is making money from these so called tax breaks which is what many could now be led to believe.

“To then create an ultimatum for the public, by putting the farming community against the NHS, local nutritious food vs healthcare, saying they must chose between two life essentials, raises massive questions about the Labour government. The OBR report published in the interim, confirms it is highly uncertain that the proposed changes to inheritance tax will raise £500million each year. UK NHS spending is approximately £230billion a year, which means at the most, the inheritance tax changes would pay for 19 hours of NHS services.

“Meanwhile, it’s estimated that £1 generated in agriculture returns £7.40 to the economy, and yet, this is the industry our Prime Minister will be dismantling if the changes to inheritance tax go ahead. Agriculture generally spreads wealth rather than hoarding it. In rural deprived areas the agri-rural sector is a significant part of maintaining essential services such as cash machines, GP surgeries, vets, local hardware stores, wider business and trades.

“What seems to have been forgotten is that healthy eating and a healthy population go hand in hand. New analysis commissioned by the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission found that the costs of Britain’s unhealthy food system amount to £268 billion every year – almost equivalent to the total annual UK healthcare spend. The proposed changes to inheritance tax will result in less availability of fresh, sustainable food which will have a profound impact on people’s health and will put even more pressure on the NHS.

“In the UK we have a food system that is riddled with unfairness. It squeezes farmers at one end and food consumers at the other. The poorest households spend less than £40 a week on food. What we need is a new food economy. One that is fairer, healthier, more sustainable and more capable of ensuring that everyone in the country has access to affordable, nutritious food no matter their background. Transforming our food system and placing more value on food education, will be much more beneficial for the NHS and the health of our society long term.”

Responding to disruptive protests in Buckinghamshire on Thursday and the Prime Minister’s subsequent comments about the government’s inheritance tax policy, NFU President Tom Bradshaw said: “However high feelings are running in the farming community, today's actions by a group which deliberately disrupted a major speech by the Prime Minister were misjudged and, clearly, have been massively counter-productive.

“This was not an NFU event. Since last October, the NFU has been leading a campaign to mitigate the damaging and inhumane impacts of the proposed changes to inheritance tax on farms, building independent evidence, huge public support and political backing across Parliament.

“Whilst we understand, and share, the Prime Minister's frustrations today, he is not right to say that Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) are “a tax break for farmers”. He knows they are policies designed to ensure family farms can stay in business and enable them to deliver for the nation. It's also not reasonable to suggest that raising between nothing and £500 million – the varying estimates of what the new tax will bring in – will determine the future of the NHS or UK schools.

“The NFU has spent months trying to meet the Chancellor, more recently to share and discuss what we believe is a revenue neutral change to the family farm tax which helps the government in its aim of raising money, but also protects family farms and removes the elderly from the eye of this storm. We have meetings with the Exchequer Secretary next week where we hope that, despite today's events, he will welcome and consider these proposals properly.

“Events like today's are not the way to achieve policy change. The NFU represents 44,000 farming businesses in England and Wales and we will speak with their voices next week – calmly and constructively.”