Farmers protest against inheritance tax changes

Farmers protest against changes to inheritance tax outside Labour Party Conference in Liverpool.

Transcript

00:00I've still got families that have got farms in the area and I appreciate what they do.

00:05They work very, very hard, seven days a week, very often without, you know, with any breaks.

00:11And for very small profit margins.

00:13Now, they pay tax on the produce that they sell already.

00:15The profit margins are very, very small.

00:18Once governments start interfering in something that they don't understand,

00:21they do not understand country life, they do not understand farming life,

00:26and they do not understand the family farming model.

00:30They forget they're getting up at 4.30, 5 o'clock every morning.

00:34They don't go to bed until the rest of the family, you know, the rest of the herd have been fed and watered and whatever.

00:41So they have a very long day.

00:42I've been doing the job for 45 years.

00:45I'm 71 years old and I would not even dream of doing anything else.

00:50And I want to carry on until I drop, but I want to be able to pass on the business to my children.

00:59Because if a large part of it has to be sold to pay an inheritance tax, it will just diminish the size of the business.

01:08And these days you've got to have critical mass.

01:11You've got to be in business to a certain size to stay profitable.

01:18The proposed changes to inheritance tax is going to do no good at all,

01:23because what they will raise annually from the changes to inheritance tax will run the NHS for one day.

01:32It's pointless. It's vindictive.

01:36I mean, I've seen governments come and go, and it's class warfare.

01:42They just hate farmers, mainly because farmers tend to be conservative.

01:49I think we will be able to convince them that actually it won't raise the money they want for public expenditure.

01:57All it won't do is encourage farmers, discourage farmers from investing,

02:06from taking on more staff, for buying machinery.

02:12It's all negative. It's all negative stuff.

02:16And as a farmer and a land manager, I have to think positively,

02:21because it's not an easy job.

02:23I do it because I love it.

02:26I do it because I love it.