Farmers threaten to close ‘every port in Britain’ amid plans to protest in London as anger continues to grow over Rachel Reeves’ inheritance tax raid

Farmers are threatening to close ‘every port in Britain’ as anger continues to grow over Rachel Reeves’ inheritance tax raid.

In order to slow down the supply to supermarkets, talks are also being held to stop animal husbandry, which could cause food shortages on the shelves.

Farmers are said to feel ‘betrayed’ by Sir Keir Starmer, as one farmer warns: ‘The government and supermarkets need to realize the control we have as farmers.’

Under plans announced in last week’s Budget, inheritance tax will be levied at 20 per cent on agricultural assets over £1 million – but Ms Reeves said in some cases the threshold could be around £3 million in practice.

Although the 20 percent figure still represents a 50 percent relief from the standard rate, farmer unions and opposition parties criticized the move.

It is feared new protests or blockades could bring vital parts of the UK’s food industry to a halt

Chancellor Rachel Reeves outside 11 Downing Street ahead of the Budget last Wednesday

This would make British farms uncompetitive, they argue, and as the backlash continues to intensify, a group of conspirators are now considering strike dates around a rally organized by the National Farmers Union (NFU) in Westminster on 19 November.

A farmer with inside information about the potential blockade Telegram: ‘They will close all ports in the UK if necessary.

‘(This) could potentially slow down supply at the supermarket. The government and supermarkets need to realize the control we have as farmers. The good thing about this is that there are farmers everywhere, so you can cover all the ports.’

Farmers can also stop taking sewage sludge and biosolids (remains of human waste after the liquid has been removed) from water treatment plants into pitch forks, another step.

Reports claimed that in online message forums farmers encouraged others to contact their sludge suppliers and inform them that all deliveries were temporarily suspended.

Experts say this could cause chaos for sewage and water companies as farmers in the UK take around 3.6 million tonnes of sewage sludge from water treatment plants and spread it across farmland.

Agricultural Forum founder Clive Bailye said farmers felt they had to do something ‘even though they were very worried about going to jail’.

‘I’ve received thousands of messages from farmers asking me how, when, where,’ he said.

Merseyside farmer Olly Harrison, the group’s unofficial spokesman, told MailOnline this week: ‘Farmers have never been more united; Unfortunately, they are angry about this issue and will not relent, especially after the worst harvest ever.

The YouTube and Instagram star added: ‘Most of them aren’t in it for the money, they’re doing it for the kids and it’s appalling that this is being immediately addressed with ill-considered Government policy. We already risk our home every day by playing snakes and ladders and now the Government has cut off the steps of the stairs.

‘This decision has already been proven to cost farmers more than just money.’

Mr Harrison also told The Times: ‘They say we’re only four meals away from anarchy.

‘What Rachel Reeves doesn’t understand is how fragile the food supply chain is and with Covid we saw that it only took a few days for panic buying to cause shortages.

‘If we stop goods leaving farms for a day or two, it will happen quicker than you think.’

Mr Harrison added that there would be no strike action yet given the US presidential election is currently ‘occupying all the headlines’, and there were also no plans to ‘interfere’ with Remembrance Day or ‘ruin’ Christmas.

He was speaking after a farmer’s son accused the Prime Minister of having ‘blood on his hands’ over an inheritance tax raid that took place after his father committed suicide 24 hours before the budget.

Farmers protested the government’s proposals to reform inheritance tax outside the Northern Agricultural Conference in Hexham, Northumberland. The photo was taken on Wednesday

Farmers slowly make their way through central London in protests over food safety in March

Farmers demonstrated in London in March over food safety fears and are feared to do so again

John Charlesworth, 78, ran a 70-acre farm on the outskirts of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, which had been in the grandfather of six’s family since the 1950s.

But according to his son Jonathan, 46, who has run the farm in recent years, he was “eaten up” by rumors about the tax raid during the pre-budget period.

Mr Charlesworth Jr. He told the Daily Mail: ‘I’m not sure you can publish what I have to say to Sir Keir Starmer. There is blood on your hands. ‘It’s completely destroying an industry we rely on.’

He also said concerns about the impact of inheritance tax had been his father’s ‘main issue’ in recent weeks, adding: ‘This Government has absolutely zero understanding of agriculture.’

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘It is a tragedy to lose someone to suicide and our sincere thoughts and condolences are with Mr Charlesworth’s family and friends.’

It has also been revealed that farmers could be paying thousands of pounds more in car tax after a gap in the budget that benefited van drivers was closed.

According to the newspaper, vehicles such as the Ford Ranger and Nissan Navara will be classified as cars instead of pickup trucks starting next April, when the in-kind tax deduction for commercial vehicles will end.

It comes after the new shadow environment secretary said the ‘over-the-top decision’ to scrap some inheritance tax breaks for farms betrayed the Government’s lack of knowledge about the countryside.

Victoria Atkins said the move ‘led to family farms and businesses being sold and split up as families could not afford huge tax bills’.

Writing in the Telegraph, he added: ‘This is a serious mistake by Labor in its Budget. Their lack of understanding of the realities of farming was revealed in the crude decision to cut years of careful tax policy to keep family farms intact and protected from inheritance tax.’

He suggested the move would make Britain more dependent on imports, adding: ‘If farmers have to put money aside for a possible tax raid instead of investing in farms, this will undoubtedly affect food production, increase prices and make British farmers less at a loss. competitive.’

Merseyside farmer Olly Harrison (pictured), YouTuber and unofficial spokesman for the conspirators, said the Chancellor ‘doesn’t understand how fragile the food supply chain is’.

Farmers protest outside the Northern Agricultural Conference in Hexham, Northumberland, on 6 November

Ms Reeves defended her proposed reforms to inheritance tax on farms, claiming it was ‘not affordable’ to maintain the current system.

Meanwhile, one of the UK’s largest animal feed producers warned that the changes would have a ‘negative’ impact on food safety.

George Weston, boss of Associated British Foods, which provides feed and technology services to farmers, said taxes on farms posed a threat to the country’s ability to grow its own food.

He said: ‘If we are to grow more of our own food and enjoy the security of self-grown food, then I think policymakers need to create a more attractive environment for the farming community.

‘These changes to inheritance tax are clearly working in a very different direction.’