Iran war takes familiar toll on Britain’s punch-drunk farmers Food The Iran war has left farmers facing another round of brutal cost rises. With the scars wrought by the cost-of-living crisis only just beginning to heal, many are warning that something will have to give. The bucolic West Suffolk estate managed by farmer Andrew Blenkiron does not, on appearances, look like a scene ravaged by [...]
Landowners hit as government pushes through 5G rent cuts Tech Mobile network operators are set to cut rents on around 15,000 existing phone masts from April, City AM understands, dragging decades-old agreements into a new regime that has already allowed payments to landowners to be cut by up to 90 per cent. The move will bring legacy mast contracts, many signed with farmers, schools, hospitals [...]
Labour U-turns on inheritance tax raid after year of farmer protests Politics The Labour government will raise the inheritance tax relief threshold for farms in another dramatic U-turn following a year of backlash from rural communities. On Tuesday, the Treasury and Department for Food and Rural Affairs said it would increase the Agricultural and Business Property Reliefs threshold to £2.5m from £1m when it is introduced in [...]
Wheat and see: Farmers fear trade deal impact on bioethanol and beef markets May 13, 2025 Ministers and commentators heralded the UK’s trade deal with the United States as a political coup that will save thousands of jobs at British automakers. But changes to beef and bioethanol trade rules have left an already bruised agricultural sector fearing the worst, writes Ali Lyon. When he’s not slavishly editing clips for the hundreds [...]
‘We will not give in’: Farmer tax fury is not going away February 26, 2025 Gripping his lectern on stage in Birmingham, Keir Starmer was attempting to win over the ever-sceptical delegates at the National Farmers’ Union congress. The then-leader of the opposition told attendees of the 2023 iteration of the annual jamboree that he understood their pain, and promised to reset government relations with farming were he fortunate enough [...]
‘Productivity argument’ against family firm tax breaks, IFS director argues February 25, 2025 There is a “productivity argument” against treating family businesses “generously”, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) director has argued, when asked about inheritance tax. Economist Paul Johnson addressed the National Farmers Union (NFU) conference in Westminster on Tuesday, which saw environment secretary Steve Reed’s speech interrupted by farming protestors, as well as NFU president Tom [...]
In Starmer’s Downing St, some unions are more welcome than others February 19, 2025 Some unions are just more welcome in Downing Street than others. A couple of weeks ago, leaders of the 11 trade unions formally affiliated with the Labour party were invited to talks in No 10 with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his deputy, Angela Rayner. The meeting was called to discuss the Employment Rights Bill [...]
Morrisons joins farmers in fight against Budget tax hike January 12, 2025 Morrisons shows its support towards the farming community, backing its call for urgent reforms to inheritance tax policies on farms following Rachel Reeves’ October Budget. In a LinkedIn video released on Saturday, Sophie Throup, the supermarket’s head of agriculture, emphasised the major Morrisons’ ongoing advocacy, reeling from the Chancellor’s sweeping inheritance tax levy. In October, [...]
Inheritance changes for farmers ‘risks missing the target’ on tax avoidance November 25, 2024 "The Budget proposal doesn’t go far enough to stop avoidance, but goes too far in how it applies to actual farms," Dan Niedle, founder of the think tank said
Ondo Insurtech partners with NFU Mutual to expand leak claims offering September 3, 2024 Ondo Insurtech has struck a deal with the National Farmers Union Mutual to introduce its LeakBot technology to its members.