On Tuesday 19 November, Just Stop Oil joined the farmers’ march called by the National Farmers Union (NFU) in solidarity with agricultural workers. Now, Just Stop Oil and the right-wing farmers union may not seem natural bedfellows at first. So, the group’s support for the march may raise eyebrows.
However, Just Stop Oil’s explanation is actually thought-provoking.
Farmers’ march: a load of old bull?
As the Canary previously reported, farmers (and far-right grifters looking for a political fight) are up in arms about the Labour Party plans for inheritance tax. We noted that, based on the data, it seems that the right-wing NFU and far-right foghorns like Jeremy Clarkson (not a farmer by the way, just a tax avoider) are looking for a stick to bash the Labour government with.
This is because the figures just don’t add up. The reforms announced will affect roughly 15% – 20% of estates that include agricultural property.
According to CenTax research based on HMRC data, between 2018 to 2020, an average of £900 million in Agricultural Property Relief went to around 1,300 estates per year. Almost two thirds (64%) of all Agricultural Relief went to roughly 200 estates per year that each claimed more than £1 million in relief, with an average estate value of £6 million.
The government’s own analysis suggests that 73% of estates with agricultural property won’t be affected by these changes.
Many people invest in agricultural land as a way of reducing their tax bill, with little direct interest in farming itself. This is shown by CenTax’s report, which reveals that among estates that benefited from Agricultural Relief between 2018 and 2020, less than half (44%) of individuals had received any trading income from agriculture at any point in the five years prior to death.
Only 10% of all beneficiaries of agricultural relief received an average of more than £10,000 per year in agricultural income over the five tax years prior to their death.
The point being – the people who will be hit by Labour’s changes in inheritance tax are mostly NOT actually farmers.
Just Stop Oil out with the NFU…?!
However, the march in London went ahead regardless. And it seems in the midst of a lot of right-wing bluster, Just Stop Oil were there to make some more valid points.
Starting at 11am, a group of Just Stop Oil supporters joined the farmers to march along Whitehall to Parliament Square:
People at the farmers’ march seemed… well, bemused by Just Stop Oil’s presence:
However, a spokesperson for Just Stop Oil made some salient points. Namely, they recognised that – aside from the inheritance tax furore – successive governments, and corporations, have screwed farmers over:
The spokesperson said of the group’s presence at the farmers’ march:
We understand the anger from farmers, we recognise they have been failed by government after government who seem content for farming policy to be set by Tescos. The Chancellor’s tax changes have hit the legacy small scale farmers can leave to their children, however the realisation that our inheritance is not going to be what we expected is going to hit us all, very soon.
Food production, the rural and urban economies, our health, education and transport systems have been designed for a climate that no longer exists. There is no evidence that farming can survive the 2C of heating that is now predicted for the 2030’s. That’s everyone’s inheritance down the pan. That’s why there are 24 people in prison who stood up to demand a decent future for all of us.
Just Stop Oil recognises that UK farmers are going to be on the sharp end as we enter this era of consequences. Farmers and farming cannot adapt to a future in which the weather will be either too hot, too dry, too wet or too cold to grow food. The crisis in farming is about so much more than inheritance tax, it’s about political elites betraying ordinary people.
While Just Stop Oil didn’t nod to whether or not it agreed with Labour’s inheritance tax plans – it did cause a bit of a stir on X with its presence at the farmers’ march:
I was not expecting this collaboration https://t.co/HA630XLWge
— Far Right Frank (@FrancButcher) November 19, 2024
Some people didn’t agree with Just Stop Oil’s reasoning:
I mean this genuinely: Unless they are just doing it to wind up farmers, climate deniers and pritest authoritarians this is by far the stupidest thing they've ever done. https://t.co/XNZnx3lpU6
— Nik (@nikofirkin) November 19, 2024
Farmers should be on the streets
However, Sam Griffiths, one of those marching, said:
If we are going to have a future worth inheriting then we need farmers, growing food and protecting the countryside we cherish. Small scale farmers have been hung out to dry, caught between powerful supermarkets, cheap imports and government policies designed to benefit large landowners. Farmers should be on the streets, they should get a decent price for their produce, and like all of us they should get a countryside worth inheriting.
So, do you agree with Just Stop Oil out supporting the right-wing NFU march? Let us know in the comments.
Featured image and additional images via Just Stop Oil
