Tories claim economic approach of ‘Starmerism’ could further hit farmers
The Government is eyeing up a further tax raid on farmers under its economic plan of “Starmerism”, the Conservatives have claimed.
Shadow Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart used Prime Minister’s Questions to ask the Government to rule out further increases to inheritance tax or changes to agricultural property relief (APR) and business property relief (BPR) during the current Parliament.
Farmers have reacted with anger and dismay to inheritance tax changes for farming businesses, which limit the existing 100% relief for farms to only the first £1 million of combined agricultural and business property.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said the “vast majority” of estate owners will be “totally unaffected” by the Government’s policy, although she did not directly address the question posed.
“Bandwagon”
Ms Rayner also accused the Tories of “desperately trying to rewrite history” and “jumping on a new bandwagon” each week.
Mr Burghart told the Commons: “This is just another part of the Budget that’s unravelling.
“Everyone here and all the farmers at home will have heard there was no guarantee there.
“We know what that means, they’re coming back for more.”
The pair deputised at PMQs as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been in Brazil to attend the G20 summit.
Speaking in the Commons, Mr Burghart opened by accusing Labour of “stoking” inflation, saying: “First, we had above inflation pay rises for the unions. Then, we had a Budget, which the OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) said was going to push up inflation.
“This morning we had City economists, real economists, saying that next year inflation would hit 3%.”
He went on to blame the Ukraine war and the Covid pandemic for driving up inflation under the Tories, adding: “This Government is doing it to the British people. High tax, high inflation, low growth, low reform, there’s a word for that, it’s Starmerism.”
Protest
Switching attention to the protest by farmers on Tuesday, Mr Burghart asked what Ms Rayner would like to say to them.
The Deputy Prime Minister said the Government is “absolutely committed” to them and highlighted £5 billion committed to the farming budget over the next two years.
Mr Burghart said: “Perhaps she thinks that everyone came to London yesterday to thank the Government?”
The Conservative MP said the Government “hasn’t got its facts right” on the policy, adding: “The Central Association for Agricultural Valuers say so, the NFU says so, they are shortly to publish a report showing that 75% of all commercial farms will fall above the threshold.
“If the Government isn’t going to reverse this terrible policy, will she at least commit that there will be no further increases to inheritance tax, and no further reductions to agricultural property relief or business property relief in this parliament?”
Ms Rayner replied: “He talks about the facts, and I absolutely stand by the figures the Government have set out, and the vast majority of estate owners will be totally unaffected.
“He wants to talk about the figures, I will be crystal clear. The vast majority of estate owners will (see) no change and pay no tax on land passed on valued at £1 million.
“Couples can pass on £3 million, tax-free, and those above the threshold will pay only half the normal rate and could pay it over 10 years, interest-free.”
Mr Burghart said the farmers policy was “another part of the Budget that’s unravelling”, adding: “Everyone here and all the farmers at home will have heard there was no guarantee there.
“We know what that means, they’re coming back for more.
“And even if (Ms Rayner) had made a promise today, it wouldn’t have been worth a thing.
“We know the Environment Secretary (Steve Reed) before the election promised the farmers that this wouldn’t happen. Labour promises get broken.
“Let’s put all of this into context. The Treasury says the family farms tax will raise on average £441 million-a-year.
“The Treasury also says that public sector pay rises the Government has announced in July will cost £9.4 billion-a-year – that’s over 21 times as much.”
Ms Rayner shot back: “I’ll school (Mr Burghart). It was his government that raised taxes to their highest level for a generation.
“It was his government that crashed the economy, that saw inflation rise and growth flatline. It was his government that spent the reserves three times over. I’ll take no lessons from (Mr Burghart).”
“Punishment”
Mr Burghart said he could understand why Ms Rayner “doesn’t want to answer questions about the terrible choices” the Government has made, adding: “It’s because the truth is ugly.
“The truth is that this is a punishment meted out to people who don’t vote Labour.
“It’s the same punishment meted out to parents who send their children to private schools.
“It’s the same punishment meted out to the owners of small businesses terrified about national insurance contributions.
“And it’s the same punishment meted out to pensioners who can’t afford to pay their fuel this winter.”
Shouting into the microphone from close range, Mr Burghart concluded: “Isn’t it the truth that if you don’t vote Labour they don’t care about you?”
Ms Rayner replied: “After that display he clearly didn’t recognise the result of the general election and has learnt nothing.
“While this Government has been fixing the mess that they left, the Conservatives have been desperately trying to rewrite history.
“They come here every week jumping on a new bandwagon, taking a new potshot but absolutely no word on what they would do differently.”
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle repeatedly intervened during the session to calm tempers and at one stage alluded to a recent “run-in” with a Labour MP.
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Tories said there were no parties, Boris didn’t lie, Truss was a capable pair of hands and 40 new hospitals and we must have austerity and Patterson must be saved and brexit was a good thing and were happy with millions using food banks and wrecked NHS.
Ypur comment is not what the article is about – just another boring anti-Try moan which does not address the concerns of the article.
The tory party said a lot of things only very recently when they were in power, none of it was correct. Now they are trying to wedge any issue they can find and this causes problem. I read reports where this inheritance issue is not what it is and it is blown out of proportion, I read that small farmers are genuinely concerned. Somewhere is the real info. But I would not trust any conservative to get it right. I also read other family businesses have to pay the dues, but stick a few fields in the mix and its… Read more »
I began by being rather in two minds about the Westminster government’s decision to restore the imposition of inheritance tax on farms. On the one hand eligible farmers are to be given a way better deal than anyone else liable to pay the tax, being taxed for only 20% rather than the usual 40% and being given ten years to pay up, and interest-free as well. But on the other, my experience of farming communities being of the upland Welsh sort, I’m very aware that there’s no shortage of farms here which operate on the very tightest profit margins, and… Read more »
I think the real issue is whether the complaint about the farm IHT issue is correct is what is the concern rather than your emotional response to one person involved.
You may be right – especially given that it’s a tad odd, to put it rather cautiously, that DEFRA’s estimation of the impact of this policy on farmers seems to differ from that being confidently asserted by the Treasury. You’d think that the government would have ensured that all its departments were ‘singing from the same hymnbook’ before declaring this new policy shift. But even so, I still adhere to the old adage that ‘you’re judged by the company which you keep’. And as Clarkson’s emphatically not the sort of company that anyone with integrity would choose to keep, just… Read more »