Citizen Kanye

I thought Leeds were very, very good last night. I fancied us to turn you over but you completely nullified our threat (apart from a 20 mins period) and put us under constant pressure. Best side we have played this season.

I would hope after a very long injury layoff he is being treated with kid gloves. We need him for the length of the run in that's for sure.

Offside as well. Clearer than Cantwell's effort.

“From three friends in high places to essentially zero is quite the feat of statecraft.”

Ouch. Janah Ganesh in FT today:

How Britain squandered the best hand in the world on.ft.com/3AP6eOO

It is a demonstration of his strength and a threat to those who don't show total loyalty. All of Trump's picks are designed to shock and enrage, to demonstrate he can literally do what he chooses and if you dissent, good luck.

Well he can fuck off. The last thing farmers need is Farage, Yaxley, Melville and all their twisted rent a mobs

I am quite invested in this so maybe I am exposed to different discussions

Farmers need to be very careful who they get into bed with at this stage. We don't need Fox, Melville, Yaxley Lennon and his knuckles draggers but sadly they will turn up. Makes me feel rather sick to be honest.

Myself and others wasted months, nay years, making the case to Remain on Twitter and other forums. One of the main reasons I am now an ex-farmer is that I saw no future for small family farms and needed a plan B. It gives me absolutely no pleasure to see that farmers were used as useful idiots

I must have missed the profession box on the referendum form. I was in the industry at the time and trust me farmers were split down the middle. My father and I argued with my uncle (same farm, same education, same life experience). He sadly reached the wrong conclusion.

Thanks for writing this David - thoughtful and calm as per. The vitriol on this 'nice' platform has been reminiscent of the worst side of Twitter.

Can Musk stand, as someone born overseas, and who broke immigration law when he entered the US, or is citizenship enough?

Also give the James Rebanks article a read to give some additional context to why this change has probably been the straw that broke the camel's back. I hope I have been measured and accurate in what I have written. There is currently so much vitriol which is so very, very unhelpful. Enjoy your day.

So my alternative is

1) Identify those genuinely farming and differentiate those using farm land as a tax shelter both at the Corporate level, and also in the scenario listed above
2) Revisit the thresholds currently announced
3) Give a transition period for people to plan for succession

The current system has contributed (but not the sole reason) to ridiculous land prices that have priced smaller family farms out of the market. This doesn't help where farms need to expand and it doesn't help new entrants, which the industry needs.

Does the system of IHT relief need reform? As someone who left the farming industry post Brexit (don't get me started) I would say 100%. Start by identifying who is genuinely farming the land they own. Have a stricter, unambiguous definition of Active Farmer.

Government figures state that only a small % of overall holdings will be impacted. Their figures include a very long tail of houses in the country with, say, 20 acres of paddocks that are let to a farmer to graze. The owners aren't farming the land but claim the benefit of the relief.

That is assuming the estate is able to claim all of the allowances that push the limit from 1m to 3m. I chose 200 acres as it is by any standards a small farm. 99% of people will not want to liquidate that asset they simply want the ability to pass that in and continue their farming business

Take my simple scenario given an average land price of 11,300 per acre in 2023.

200 acres * 11,300 = 2.25m
Farmhouse conservative value 600k
So even without machinery, livestock, property and buildings, unharvested crops (all currently covered by BPR) would bring a small farm into the mix

But would be covered under Business Property Relief, which also comes into the changes, no?

The article sums up the broader frustrations. The IHT thing is the tip of the iceberg. I can guarantee, farmers fighting for subsidies when they are not widely understood would have gone down like a shit sandwich too. James Rebanks article touches on the utter failure of successive governments

Sorry, I don't understand the question.

A farmers' revolt is coming

Try and read this Roger

unherd.com/2024/11/a-fa...

You are better than that

How dare he hold an opinion eh?

The only people benefitting here are hobby farmers with a few acres that they let out. The treasury have got this wrong as they did with winter fuel payments but haven't got the balls to admit a mistake. Shame on them.

I know when people see these numbers there will be little sympathy. But it is punishing the wrong people Jim. If you want to go after those using land as an IHT shelter, devise a much, much harder definition of Active Farmer so you have to actually farm the land to benefit from APR.

200 acres at 10k per acre, plus a house, plus livestock, machinery, yards and outbuildings, workers cottage, crop in the ground waiting to be harvested bring all of these farms into the equation. Despite what the urbanites will tell you, margins now are impossibly thin.

And if you don't survive 7 years and haven't been given time to plan? The numbers despite what the government say are going to be incredibly tight for anyone over 200 acres, which unless there are other income streams is the absolute bare minimum of viability for a farm.