Random Irritations

[PJ87]

I totally agree. the issues facing the farming communities did not happen overnight and they have been hammered by supermarkets in the quest for cheap food that looks the way they think their consumers want. The voices of the rural communities have gone unheard of for decades in all sorts of area such as prices, services and even policing.

I have no desire to protect Clarkson, Dyson etc and perhaps there could be a generational exemption when a farm has been in the same ownership for a certain period of time.

We should look to France (one of the few counties that is 100% self sufficient) where they have legal loopholes for those who meet the criteria. IE passing to your kids to carry on farming

 

[GB72]

We should look to France (one of the few counties that is 100% self sufficient) where they have legal loopholes for those who meet the criteria. IE passing to your kids to carry on farming

Yes, that sounds like a very decent option.

Far too big an issue to address but we should also look at ending the rejection of non perfect veg etc as an issue on loss and food waste. So many big issues around our food supply go ignored. I am lucky in that I can nip to the local farm and get fresh milk from their vending machine, the butchers have reasonably priced local meat and the weekend market is full of fresh fruit and veg. If only that were available to more people.

 

[PJ87]

Yes, that sounds like a very decent option.

Far too big an issue to address but we should also look at ending the rejection of non perfect veg etc as an issue on loss and food waste. So many big issues around our food supply go ignored. I am lucky in that I can nip to the local farm and get fresh milk from their vending machine, the butchers have reasonably priced local meat and the weekend market is full of fresh fruit and veg. If only that were available to more people.

Isn't that non perfect veg thing gone now? Since the b word?

I'm all for supporting farmers, all I see this IHT is closing loopholes used by people like Clarkson rather than taxing our actual hard working farmers

 

[Arthur Wedge]

You have absolutely no idea what you're talking and I can't be arsed to argue the toss with you

Currently farmers get around £2.5bn worth of subsidies from the government

The amount raised from this inheritance tax is approx £200mil over the ten years

The ones affected by this tax aren’t the ones working to the bones

These are the ones that have glamping pods everywhere , people that have hoovered up land to try and avoid inheritance tax

Standard rate for many others is 40%

Yet we want to feel sympathy for the likes of Clarkson who has made a fortune and hoovering land because some who’s land is valued over £3mil will have to pay 20%

Only thing I would change is if the land is being passed on to family to carry on farming

 

[GB72]

Isn't that non perfect veg thing gone now? Since the b word?

I'm all for supporting farmers, all I see this IHT is closing loopholes used by people like Clarkson rather than taxing our actual hard working farmers

It is better but supermarkets still reject veg that does not fit their ideal of what it should look like. The are better at selling wonky veg now but that should be the norm and not a side line.

The concern amongst the farming community is real but we will see how it impacts over time and they may be worried about nothing. The issue for me is that the whole industry is being pidgenholed when the differences between the haves and have nots are astronomical.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Isn't that non perfect veg thing gone now? Since the b word?

I'm all for supporting farmers, all I see this IHT is closing loopholes used by people like Clarkson rather than taxing our actual hard working farmers

Perfect veg is driven by consumers, and so driven by supermarkets. Consumers wont buy weird shaped veg so supermarkets don't want it. Morrisons sell 'wonky' carrots and we often get those because frankly, we don't care that they aren't straight. Lots do care though .

 

[GB72]

Isn't that non perfect veg thing gone now? Since the b word?

I'm all for supporting farmers, all I see this IHT is closing loopholes used by people like Clarkson rather than taxing our actual hard working farmers

Also, thank you for entering a proper debate and exchange of views on the matter.

 

[PJ87]

Perfect veg is driven by consumers, and so driven by supermarkets. Consumers wont buy weird shaped veg so supermarkets don't want it. Morrisons sell 'wonky' carrots and we often get those because frankly, we don't care that they aren't straight. Lots do care though .

It's used to be an actual law tho wasn't it? That they couldn't be sold when we were members of the bloc?

 

[Arthur Wedge]

Perfect veg is driven by consumers, and so driven by supermarkets. Consumers wont buy weird shaped veg so supermarkets don't want it. Morrisons sell 'wonky' carrots and we often get those because frankly, we don't care that they aren't straight. Lots do care though .

Thankfully we are a market town as well as surrounded by farm shops so most of our veg shopping is done with them

A lot of the supermarkets I suspect prob don’t even get local produce -

 

[PJ87]

Also, thank you for entering a proper debate and exchange of views on the matter.

It's very hard to debate anymore as the lines between issues and politics are so close that it's very hard to not cross them

I was in a very fortunate position that when all these measures got announced I was like oh nothings changed for me. However I can appreciate farmers will have heard all that and feared the worse

It doesn't help the fear is fueled by people like Clarkson who hijack the issue rather than the facts being presented

If I was a betting man I'd wager a lot of family farms won't even notice the changes it's just the fear that is playing atm

 

[Fade and Die]

Clarkson is partially responsible for the new IHT system. He bought the land specifically as a tax dodge. He had no interest in farming, no care for farmers, or about agricultural products. He saw a farm as a means to an end until he saw the opportunity to turn it into a successful TV series and a hobby.

However most farmers are not like him, Yes the land might be worth Millions. But farmers are not living a millionaire lifestyle. Many are just surviving.


It being an inheritance tax means all that's gonna happen when current farmers die is big farming corps are gonna come in and buy it off their children who can't afford the inheritance tax.

Tax the sale of the land by all means, but inheritance tax is wrong.

 

[RichA]

Uncleared and ungritted pavements. The roads are now fine where I am today in Notts but the pavements are a massive hazard for pedestrians.
Any old folks walking outside will be risking a potentially life-changing fall for the next week. Why don't we clear pavements?

 

[Neilds]

Uncleared and ungritted pavements. The roads are now fine where I am today in Notts but the pavements are a massive hazard for pedestrians.
Any old folks walking outside will be risking a potentially life-changing fall for the next week. Why don't we clear pavements?

If we started gritting pavements, how would parents tow their kids in sledges when it snows - making the pavements even slippery than they were beforehand?

 

[GB72]

It's very hard to debate anymore as the lines between issues and politics are so close that it's very hard to not cross them

I was in a very fortunate position that when all these measures got announced I was like oh nothings changed for me. However I can appreciate farmers will have heard all that and feared the worse

It doesn't help the fear is fueled by people like Clarkson who hijack the issue rather than the facts being presented

If I was a betting man I'd wager a lot of family farms won't even notice the changes it's just the fear that is playing atm

Thing is, Clarkson is very much a double edged sword. He is self serving and offends as many as he entertains but the fact is that he can be an effective mouthpiece for getting a message out to the general public. Farmers have not had a voice for so long that they will clutch at anything to be heard and so, despite the fact that he has more than likely hijacked an issue, his involvement means that an issue that would be swept under the table is getting national media attention as a result. I know that the NFU etc have steered away from getting Clarkson formally involved in anything and that may be wise but there is no doubt that more people are aware of the struggles of farming since his involvement.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

It's used to be an actual law tho wasn't it? That they couldn't be sold when we were members of the bloc?

I'm not actually sure. I suspect it was probably a scare story that the red tops picked up on and it stuck. Urban myth is the most likely thing there.

 

[PaulMdj]

It is better but supermarkets still reject veg that does not fit their ideal of what it should look like. The are better at selling wonky veg now but that should be the norm and not a side line.

The concern amongst the farming community is real but we will see how it impacts over time and they may be worried about nothing. The issue for me is that the whole industry is being pidgenholed when the differences between the haves and have nots are astronomical.

Sadly the Farming Industry isn’t alone in this, it’s used by all the haves to drive a wedge between consumers and blurr the truth.

 

[Imurg]

Seeing what I presume to be an "influencer" with his phone attached to a selfie stick that hung around his neck sticking out like a rhino horn....
In Tesco......
Chatting away to himself about bargains and non bargains...
Jesus H Christ what a time to be alive.........
Roll on the Asteroid....

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Uncleared and ungritted pavements. The roads are now fine where I am today in Notts but the pavements are a massive hazard for pedestrians.
Any old folks walking outside will be risking a potentially life-changing fall for the next week. Why don't we clear pavements?

This was raised on our town FB page last night. The answer given by a local councillor was that there simply are not the numbers of staff to grit pavements. Cost would also come into it. Far too many miles, it is not practical. He did also point out to those complaining, they provided plenty of grit bins in key areas, people are welcome to come along and spread the grit themselves. They can not rely on council workers for everything.

You may not like the reply but it probably applies to your area as well.

 

[PJ87]

Thing is, Clarkson is very much a double edged sword. He is self serving and offends as many as he entertains but the fact is that he can be an effective mouthpiece for getting a message out to the general public. Farmers have not had a voice for so long that they will clutch at anything to be heard and so, despite the fact that he has more than likely hijacked an issue, his involvement means that an issue that would be swept under the table is getting national media attention as a result. I know that the NFU etc have steered away from getting Clarkson formally involved in anything and that may be wise but there is no doubt that more people are aware of the struggles of farming since his involvement.

Problem I find with Clarkson is he is the farage of the farming world. Soon as he is involved the issue gets lost and it's a side show

 

[GB72]

Sadly the Farming Industry isn’t alone in this, it’s used by all the haves to drive a wedge between consumers and blurr the truth.

Totally agree and we can now see plenty who are happy to mark all farmers as rich, land owning gentry to support their argument in the same way that it was done with doctors, nurses etc.