Tacxes are goin’ up, Lads
Labour will order schools, hospitals and prisons to buy more British food in an olive branch to farmers angered by the inheritance tax raid.
Steve Reed, the Environment Secretary, is overhauling the way in which public contracts are awarded to prioritise domestic produce over cheaper imports.
The public sector will be set the target of sourcing at least half of all food from the highest-welfare farms – which are typically in the UK – under the new rules.
It is expected the reforms will deliver a major financial boost, potentially running into the billions, for farmers who are still reeling from Labour’s so-called tractor tax.
Aren’t we the lucky ones.
Does anyone believe that beyond the government cipher who wrote the press release?
Politician’s views on everything are distorted by the fact that someone else pays for everything they need. So make food more expensive? Who cares? Eat out at first class restaurants and put it on expenses. Everyone drives electric cars? MPs will have theirs bought for them by us. They will have someone paid by us to drive them around if they’ve climbed the greasy pole far enough. They will have someone to make sure it’s fully charged using electricity paid for by us.
So, firms buy from British farmers, who will see their income increase which, in turn, will make their land more valuable, and increase the inheritance tax to be paid. A socialist Chancellor’s wet dream.
“The public sector will be set the target of sourcing at least half of all food from the highest-welfare farms – which are typically in the UK – under the new rules.”
So, let’s narrow this down to what this actually means. It doesn’t mean arable farming. Getting wheat or apples from the UK. There’s no “welfare” involved there. It’s animals. Which we mostly don’t import anyway. Roughly 3/4 of beef is produced here, 2/3rds of pork. And what we do import is from Ireland, which has similar welfare standards. And of course, if anyone is selling to the UK government and not hitting the standards, they’ll just jump through the hoops to retain the contract.
It’s a big nothingburger. A story to please the sort of romantics who think it essential we look after people farming in the lake district instead of there being more B&Bs for hill walkers.
The main beneficiary will be bureaucrats who now have to ensure sourcing of UK produce, and write that into contract clauses and then do some sort of bullshit policing of the supply chain.
The NHS won’t be able to buy from British farms if they have all closed down.
Well, yes, but probably more accurate to say that the income tax rates won’t change, but the bands will go down.
Back in 2010, median wage was about 25 large. The 40% bracket started at 37 thousand of taxable income (so add on the PA for the gross wage required to hit the upper band).
Currently, median wage is about 37 and a half, and the bracket starts about 200 quid higher. I guess they’ll actually lop 25~30 grand off the band for the additional rate first, to about 90 to 100 thousand.
Looking at IT Jobs Watch, that’d hit a whole of sysadmins and devs, plus GEN AI engineers and what not. That’s just within IT roles.
The actual rates have been remarkably stable for about 20 years.
@Western Bloke “The main beneficiary will be bureaucrats who now have to ensure sourcing of UK produce, and write that into contract clauses and then do some sort of bullshit policing of the supply chain.”
I think you’ve nailed it.
When I was a school governor we didn’t buy any food. Our catering contractors bought the food.
“So, let’s narrow this down to what this actually means. It doesn’t mean arable farming. Getting wheat or apples from the UK. ”
It could do, if the apples or wheat from abroad have been produced using chemicals that are banned in the UK. Welfare doesn’t just mean how you treat animals, it could also mean what pesticide residues are in the food, or how the production treats the environment as well.
The NHS won’t be able to buy from British farms if they have all closed down.
I’m in favor of all the NHS closing down.
Don’t get this proposal. Suppose unlucky farmland owners pat £1bn IHT under the changes, but public sector contracts cost £1bn more than previously due to the sustainable sourcing rules, then farmland owners are back at no net gain (but reduced incentive to be productive) and the general taxpayer has to find the extra £1bn
Why not just increase the general taxation level by £1bn – abolish the VAT exemption on fresh food for example, and uprate the applicable amount of benefit claims by a quid to compensate them.
The prisoners will go to court to prove it violates their human rights.
Labour will order schools, hospitals and prisons to buy more British food in an olive branch to farmers angered by the inheritance tax raid.
So where are they going to UK source the olive branch? Gibraltar?
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