A British farmer has hit out at Labour’s “unfair” inheritance tax raid despite making changes to the threshold.
Speaking to GB News at a fresh protest against the Government, farmer Shane East blasted Chancellor Rachel Reeves for “taking a big proportion” of farmers’ hard-earned money with her tax raid.
Taking their latest stand against the policy, GB News was exclusively invited to join farmers in Doncaster as they formed a blockade at a supermarket distribution centre.
Farmers in Luton and Peterborough have also carried out the same protest at other distribution centres, causing chaos for supermarket deliveries.
Speaking to GB News’ Yorkshire and Humberside Reporter Anna Riley, Mr East said: “I’ve turned out here today to show my support for the farmers, and just to try and get things moving, going forward.
“I think it’s just time that we’ve supported British farmers and British produce over the whole board. Not just farmers.”
He argued: “I think all British industries – engineering, farming, everything all the way through that’s British, needs to be supported more.”
Having travelled to the protest from Lincolnshire in his tractor, Mr East criticised the amount of profit supermarkets make on their produce compared to the farmers.
Farmer Shane East told GB News that Labour’s inheritance tax raid is ‘unfair’
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GB NEWS
He told GB News: “It’s about 0.5 per cent profit on produce on farmers, what farmers get out of the gate price, and the supermarkets make billions of pounds profit each year. And I don’t think that’s really fair.
“I think they should pass some of that on to the local farmers, our farmers in the UK.”
Hailing British produce as a better food supply than cheaply imported foreign produce, Mr East said: “British produce is far superior to foreign imports, we follow all the rules and regulations and what we can and can’t use on crops and livestock as well.
“Feeding livestock is another one, and this stuff, what they just bring in from abroad, they’ve got no traceability to it. And they can just do more or less do as they like with it.”
Farmers in Doncaster, Luton and Peterborough have carried out a supermarket blockade in protest
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GB NEWS
Asked by Anna how difficult he is finding farming since the inheritance tax raid, Mr East revealed: “It’s very difficult, very difficult. We’re up all days, in all different weathers.
“We don’t go to sleep very often, because we’ve got livestock to tend to. And yes, it’s just very difficult.”
Calling on the inheritance tax to be “scrapped completely” by the Labour Government, he added: “Inheritance tax should be scrapped for everybody, across the board.
“It’s a very bad tax, it’s a very unfair tax. People for generations have worked very hard to pass things on, and then at death, the Government just takes a big proportion of it.”
Mr East told GB News that inheritance tax should be ‘scrapped across the board’
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GB NEWS
In a statement, a Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs spokesman said: “We’re backing British farmers as part of a new era of partnership to create a productive, profitable and sustainable future for farming.
“Our new Farming and Food Partnership Board will bring Government, farming and the food industry together to better enable farm businesses to grow, invest and plan for the future.
“This is alongside delivering the largest nature-friendly farming budget in history, protecting farmers in trade deals, making supply chains fairer to help secure the farming sector’s future.”