Derbyshire farmers join thousands in Westminster protest over inheritance tax
Derbyshire farmers were among thousands to descend on Westminster today (Tuesday) in protest at tax changes they say will result in the land families have worked for “generations” being sold off.
One of them was George Adsetts, who owns a 200-acre crop and poultry farm in partnership with his father David Adsetts in Bolsover. He was one of 400 Derbyshire land workers who travelled to London this morning – urging the Government to re-think changes to inheritance tax announced in the budget last month.
Also, warming up” for celebrity TV farmer Jeremy Clarkson with a speech was Chesterfield’s Steve Perez, who owns Walton Lodge Farm.
Previously farmers such as the Adsetts could claim 100 per cent relief on inheritance tax however under new rules effective from April 2026 relief will be restricted to the first £1 million of combined agricultural and business property. Above this amount, landowners will pay inheritance tax at a reduced rate of 20 per cent.
George and others like him say the changes will see large food-producing farms sold off and some even “evicted”.
The Government claims the bulk of claims – based on its latest figures – were below the £1 million threshold and “almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief would not be affected by the changes”.
Crucially, claims not only for Agricultural Property Relief (APR) but Business Property Relief (BPR) are lumped together in the £1 million threshold.
However George, 39, and fellow National Farmers Union (NFU) members say those who have previously claimed for under £1 million are not farms but “smallholdings or pony paddocks” attached to large private rural homes.
Today’s rally was joined by celebrity farmer Jeremy Clarkson whose TV show Diddly Squat Farm sits on 1,000 acres. In a speech Mr Clarkson called on the Government to “admit” its mistakes and “back down”.
Commenting on the speech, George said: “His (Jeremy Clarkson’s) set-up is possibly what the Government are going after – he’s such a figurehead, you have to have him on-board don’t you. He has a thousand acres and to him it is a hobby, so it’s an odd parallel. A massive farm to someone like him is a hobby but to a family farm that’a livelihood to a mum and dad and three kids.
"I think he did take it on as a bit of a gimmick but he’s fallen in love with it and it seems he can really see what goes into it. He’s spent the time doing it and that’s the point that the Government doesn’t see – what makes sense on a piece of paper doesn’t make sense at all in the field. Whereas Jeremy Clarkson has spent the last few years literally in the fields going through the highs and lows, such as low margins on certain crops and bad weather and can really see what the difficulties are.”
George, along with 1,800 other NFU members, George is meeting with his local MP – in George’s case, Bolsover’s Natalie Fleet. Speaking from Westminster ahead of the meeting, he said: "The hope is the Government will see the strength of feeling and realise what it means and sit down with the NFU to discuss alternatives.
"It’s unrealistic to think they’ll drop the policy in totality. But the hope is they’ll listen to the concerns and make it workable. Part of the problem is that until three weeks ago nothing was proposed. It’s lack of consultation. It’s been introduced with no thought and so, we will be putting proposals forward. What we’re asking is they consult on it and make appropriate changes to make it workable.
"There are a lot of people that have now been caught in their twilight years seeing their life’s work ripped up in front of their eyes – there will be farms that get sold and the family ties that worked that land for generations will be lost and they’ll be taken over by big corporations. It’s still an attractive proposition for them – the issue for farmers is they don’t have that cash in the bank because all their assets are tied up in the land, buildings, machinery and cattle. If you pay that out you don’t have a business anymore.”
Jane Bassett, a High Peak livestock farmer and the NFU Midlands regional chair, said farmers would be bringing their “own personal stories to our MPs” today. She added: “We will help them to understand the real-life impact of these decisions and why they need to be reversed. The government has massively miscalculated the impact of changes to APR and BPR on our farms – it could be devastating.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Food and Rural Affairs has previously told Derbyshire Times the Government’s approach was “fair and balanced”. He added: “With public services crumbling, a £22bn fiscal hole inherited from the previous government and 40 per cent of Agricultural Property Relief going to the 7 per cent wealthiest claimants, we made a difficult decision to ensure the relief is fiscally sustainable.
“Around 500 claims each year will be impacted and farm-owning couples can pass on up to £3m without paying any inheritance tax - this is a fair and balanced approach.”