CONSERVATIVE councillors in the Cotswolds turned up to this week’s District Council meeting wearing wellies in solidarity with farmers.

Farmers across Gloucestershire protested Labour’s plan to impose a 20 per cent inheritance tax on farms worth more than £1m.

The Central Association of Agricultural Valuers says 2,500 farms could be affected each year by the new policy.

And many farming families fear the proposal will force them out of the agricultural industry.

Farmers took to the streets in Gloucester last week and drove their tractors in peaceful formation to protest the changes.

While in the Cotswolds many gathered at Cirencester Livestock Market at Cotswold Agricultural Centre.

Councillor Julia Judd (C, Ermin), who spoke at the rally in Cirencester, said the Conservatives on Cotswold District Council completely value farmers.

“One of the most important things is that the farm, farming as a business, should not be compared to other businesses.

“You have to be a certain type to be a farmer. Most people wouldn’t be up to it.

“But the most important thing that everyone’s missing is that what is happening is that farmers are being forced to sell off little pockets of land in order to keep afloat because they can’t make enough income at the moment.

“And every time they sell off those little pockets of land, those bits of land go out of food production, they either go into something like solar panel farms, housing or even dog walking parks.

“We keep getting applications coming through for dog walking parks, which to me are utterly insane.

“We’ve got loads of walking routes in the Cotswolds. The footpath network in the Cotswolds is absolutely to die for.

“Most importantly, this land then goes out of food production and food security is a really important issue.

“People don’t realise that if we can’t produce our own food and feed people more from our own land rather than importing it we will be held ransom by the global markets.

“The problem with supermarkets is that it’s all to do with money. They don’t care about the big picture.

“There isn’t a holistic view of what is actually happening to farms, farmland and food security.”

The government says it is committed to supporting farmers and rural communities, including helping families to pass their land on to the next generation.

The Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that agricultural property relief and business property relief will be reformed at the Autumn Budget on October 30, 2024.

The government says it is better targeting these reliefs to make them fairer, protecting small family farms.

“The latest figures show that the top 7 per cent (the largest 117 claims) account for 40 per cent of the total value of agricultural property relief,” they say.

“This costs the taxpayer £219 million. The top 2 per cent of claims (37 claims) account for 22 per cent of agricultural property relief, costing £119 million.

“It is not fair for a very small number of claimants each year to claim such a significant amount of relief, when this money could better be used to fund our public services.”

The Chancellor also announced £5 billion to help farmers produce food over the next two years – this is the largest amount ever allocated for sustainable food production.

“This is alongside £60 million for the Farming Recovery Fund which will help farmers recover from the impact of flooding.

“We are also investing £208 million in protecting the nation from outbreaks of serious diseases that threaten our farming industry, food security and human health.”