Sir Keir Starmer vows to defend budget decisions ‘all day long’ as farmers slam ‘disrespectful’ PM
Sir Keir Starmer has said he will defend the decisions made in the budget “all day long” amid anger from farmers over inheritance tax changes.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced last month in her key speech that from April 2026, farms worth more than £1m will face an inheritance tax rate of 20%, rather than the standard 40% applied to other land and property.
The announcement has sparked anger among farmers who argue this will mean higher food prices, lower food production and having to sell off land to pay for the tax.
Sir Keir defended the budget as he gave his first speech as prime minister at the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno, North Wales, where farmers have been holding a tractor protest outside.
Sir Keir admitted: “We’ve taken some extremely tough decisions on tax.”
He said: “I will defend facing up to the harsh light of fiscal reality. I will defend the tough decisions that were necessary to stabilise our economy.
“And I will defend protecting the payslips of working people, fixing the foundations of our economy, and investing in the future of Britain and the future of Wales. Finally, turning the page on austerity once and for all.”
He also said the budget allocation for Wales was a “record figure” – some £21bn for next year – an extra £1.7bn through the Barnett Formula, as he hailed a “path of change” with Labour governments in Wales and Westminster.
And he confirmed a £160m investment zone in Wrexham and Flintshire will be going live in 2025.
‘PM should have addressed the protesters’
Among the hundreds of farmers demonstrating was Gareth Wyn Jones, who told Sky News it was “disrespectful” that the prime minister did not mention farmers in his speech.
He said “so many people have come here to air their frustrations. He (Starmer) had an opportunity to address the crowd. Even if he was booed he should have been man enough to come out and talk to the people”.
He said farmers planned to deliver Sir Keir a letter which begins with “‘don’t bite the hand that feeds you”.
Farmers’ tractor protest outside the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno, North Wales
Mr Wyn Jones told Sky News the government was “destroying” an industry that was already struggling.
“They’re destroying an industry that’s already on its knees and struggling, absolutely struggling, mentally, emotionally and physically. We need government support not more hindrance so we can produce food to feed the nation.”
He said inheritance tax changes will result in farmers increasing the price of food: “The poorer people in society aren’t going to be able to afford good, healthy, nutritious British food, so we have to push this to government for them to understand that enough is enough, the farmers can’t take any more of what they’re throwing at us.”
Mr Wyn Jones disputed the government’s estimation that only 500 farming estates in the UK will be affected by the inheritance tax changes.
“Look, a lot of farmers in this country are in their 70s and 80s, they haven’t handed their farms down because that’s the way it’s always been, they’ve always known there was never going to be inheritance tax.”
On Friday, Sir Keir addressed farmers’ concerns, saying: “I know some farmers are anxious about the inheritance tax rules that we brought in two weeks ago.
“What I would say about that is, once you add the £1m for the farmland to the £1m that is exempt for your spouse, for most couples with a farm wanting to hand on to their children, it’s £3m before anybody pays a penny in inheritance tax.”
Read more:
Ex-Labour adviser suggests doing to farms ‘what Thatcher did to coal mines’
Farmers ‘could block ports and disrupt food supply’
Welsh farmer Gareth Wyn Jones
Ministers said the move will not affect small farms and is aimed at targeting wealthy landowners who buy up farmland to avoid paying inheritance tax.
But analysis this week said a typical family farm would have to put 159% of annual profits into paying the new inheritance tax every year for a decade and could have to sell 20% of their land.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The Country and Land Business Association (CLA), which represents owners of rural land, property and businesses in England and Wales, found a typical 200-acre farm owned by one person with an expected profit of £27,300 would face a £435,000 inheritance tax bill.
The plan says families can spread the inheritance tax payments over 10 years, but the CLA found this would require an average farm to allocate 159% of its profits each year for a decade.
To pay that, successors could be forced to sell 20% of their land, the analysis found.
Cutting the annual allowance for cash ISAs could backfire in multiple ways, an influential group of MPs has warned the government.
For months, speculation has been growing that the chancellor may slash the yearly limit for tax-free savings – potentially from £20,000 to £10,000.
The government is hoping to encourage savers to invest in stocks and shares ISAs instead, which can offer greater long-term returns and improve financial health.
But according to the Treasury Committee, slashing allowances would be unlikely to achieve this – and could lead to higher prices for consumers.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Chancellor faces tough budget choices
Building societies rely on cash ISA savings to fund mortgage lending – and a drop in deposits might lead to higher interest rates or fewer products on the market.
Committee chairwoman Dame Meg Hillier said “we are a long way” from achieving a culture where substantial numbers of Britons invest in the stock market.
“This is not the right time to cut the cash ISA limit,” she warned. “Instead, the Treasury should focus on ensuring that people are equipped with the necessary information and confidence to make informed investment decisions.
“Without this, I fear the chancellor’s attempts to transform the UK’s investment culture simply will not deliver the change she seeks, instead hitting savers and borrowers.”
Read more: How to get started with a stocks and shares ISA
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Govt ‘not satisfied’ after inflation sticks at 3.8%
The latest figures suggest two-thirds of contributions to ISAs in the 2023/24 tax year went to cash accounts – bringing total holdings to £360bn.
An estimated 14.4 million consumers solely save in a cash ISA, with the average balance standing at £6,993.
Surveys suggest that, if allowances were cut, consumers may move their cash to alternative savings accounts where they would have to pay tax on interest.
Skipton Group executive Charlotte Harrison previously warned: “Building societies, which funds over a third of all first-time buyer mortgages, rely on retail deposits like cash ISAs to fund their lending.
“If ISA inflows fall, the cost of funding is likely to rise, and that means mortgages could become both more expensive and harder to access.”
She claimed a policy change could end up “penalising savers who want low-risk, flexible options” – adding: “Cash ISAs work. Undermining them doesn’t.”
Read more money news:
What’s behind surprising rise in retail sales
Tesco rolls out bodycams to security staff
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Tax hikes possible, Reeves tells Sky News
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “At the moment, often returns on savings and returns on pensions are lower than in comparable countries around the world.
“I do want to make sure that when people put something aside for the future, they get good returns on those savings.”
The committee’s warning comes amid speculation over whether Ms Reeves will raise income tax at next month’s budget – breaking a key Labour manifesto pledge.
Newspaper reports have suggested that the basic rate of income tax could be increased for the first time since the 1970s – up 1p to 21%.
This could raise about £8bn and help tackle a black hole in the country’s finances, but risks squeezing consumers further as a cost-of-living crisis continues.
A 1p rise to the higher band of income tax – taking that rate to 41% – is also believed to be under consideration, but this would only boost the nation’s coffers by £2bn.
Ms Reeves has refused to rule out such a move, telling Sky’s deputy political editor Sam Coates that she is looking at both tax rises and spending cuts ahead of her statement to the Commons on 26 November.
The Bank of England is worried that a rise in financiers’ lending to data center lending may cause an AI bubble reminiscent of the dot-com crash in the early 2000s.
The rumored nomination of Michael Selig follows the CFTC nomination process hitting a snag in September when Brian Quintenz was withdrawn.
-
Sports2 years agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment1 year agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024