Thousands of farmers, countryfolk and their supporters were in central London yesterday to protest against the imposition of inheritance tax on farmland. You could tell something was up by the number of people in Barbour jackets, tweed caps and sensible outerwear milling around mainline stations and aiming for Westminster. People who hardly ever come to London had come to London to make clear the strength of their opposition, from landed gentry with shooting sticks to the farmhands who keep the cattle in check. I think this group were probably overstating their case, though.
Their plan was to start in the centre of Whitehall, hear some speeches and then march down to Parliament Square and back. Instead so many people turned up that the march never happened, for reasons of safety and because it was a miserable cold wet morning. This meant that a lot of posters and banners never got properly waved, although I did spot classics like The Government Is Milking Us, No Farm No Food No Future, Back Farmers Not Starmer, Never Bite The Hand That Feeds You, Save Our Family Farms, Axe The Tax and Labour Lies Vindictiveness And Even More Lies. Very little propaganda manufactured by a political party was evident.
Whitehall was thus rammed, a mass of patiently angry people listening to a succession of short speeches being delivered from a stage a very long way away. A lot of those present were families but more were delegations from farms (i.e. whoever could get the time off) and local agricultural associations, often in branded fleeces. Given yesterday's weather it was just as well that most of them were well used to standing around in inclement conditions and had dressed accordingly. This looks interesting, I thought, and decided to walk quickly along the side of the demonstration to get a flavour of it. Instead it took me 40 minutes to extricate myself to the far end.
From being a bystander I was swiftly hemmed into the protestors, attempting to follow a crocodile of damp souls squeezing along the periphery. The lads in front were from Matlock, those behind from the Mole Valley and those coming the other way included one mother from the Midlands optimistically manoeuvring a pushchair. One particularly awkward tree near the entrance to Downing Street proved a particular bottleneck, as did a clump of green-jacketed gents outside the Cabinet Office with absolutely no intention of surrendering their ground. The demonstration was lightly policed but despite the prolonged crush never felt out of control, these being practical protestors keener on listening than gesticulating or causing disruption.
My lengthy walk meant I got to hear a lot more speeches than had been my intention. Some were from farmers, others from interested parties and a few were from very big names in politics and beyond. People listened patiently, cheering on cue and occasionally booing when the devil Rachel Reeves was mentioned. Ed Davey arrived to silence but won the crowd round with an impassioned defence of the rural economy and a pledge that his MPs would support the cause. Kemi Badenoch was less specific and thus less impressive, perhaps hamstrung by the impotence of opposition. But Jeremy Clarkson proved the star turn, appearing against medical advice and holding the crowd in the palm of his hand with a perfectly pitched combination of fury and humour. If he ever leaves his farm to enter politics, Labour's days are likely numbered.
It's debatable how disastrous to farming the forthcoming introduction of inheritance tax will be. It only applies to assets over £1m, anyone bequeathing land to a spouse or offspring gets a substantial additional buffer and at 20% it's only half the usual rate. The Treasury reckons only 500 farms a year will have to pay anything, at most, and the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies goes further to say "The changes will affect a remarkably small number of some of the most valuable farms." But what's clear is that tens of thousands of farmers believe it'll apply to them and are about to make business decisions based on their assets being sliced in the future, which indeed some of them will be. Whatever, if you want to better understand a point of view I can heartily recommend embedding yourself in the middle of it for 40 minutes, ideally in much better weather.
