Farmer John Charlesworth has taken his own life in fear of the Government’s inheritance tax raid, his son has said. The Telegraph has more.
John Charlesworth, 78, was found dead at his 70-acre farm in Barnsley, Yorkshire, on Tuesday, 24 hours before the Budget.
His son Jonathan, 46, said the father-of-two ended his life after being “eaten away” at the prospect of his family losing the £2 million estate, which has been owned by the family since 1957, because of the Chancellor’s tax increase.
He told the Telegraph that hearing in advance of the Budget about Labour’s plans to end the practice of letting all farmers pass on estates without inheritance tax was the “final straw” for Mr. Charlesworth, who had been caring for his sick wife.
In a message to Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves, he said: “I would tell them they’ve killed my Dad. He didn’t know the details but all the scaremongering around it beforehand frightened him to death.
“He was the most kind-hearted person you’d ever meet, my Dad. He wouldn’t take any nonsense. He would do anything for anybody, I don’t think anyone had a bad word to say about my Dad.
“The battles we had guided me for the future. You couldn’t ask for better really.”
Last week, Ms. Reeves used her Budget to place a 20% tax on agricultural property assets worth more than £1 million, instead of allowing them to be inherited tax-free.
Ms. Reeves said the move was taken to stop wealthy people from buying up agricultural land to avoid inheritance tax but it has led to fears that scores of ordinary farmers could be forced out of business.
Concerns have also been raised about the impact the policy will have on farmers’ mental health.
Speaking in the Commons on Friday, Richard Tice, the Reform U.K. Deputy Leader, shared concerns that “heads of farming families in their 80s and 90s are seriously considering committing suicide before this policy comes into place”.
Worth reading in full.
Stop Press: Labour’s inheritance tax changes may mean more agricultural land becomes available for renewable energy projects across the U.K., renewable energy expert Gareth Phillips has said.
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What I want to know is who are the masters in these relationships?
Every bit of evidence we see, every day, is that the Government simply does not understand the technolocy they are paying for. Certainly, in UK, the Civl Service is made up predominantly of arts, business and social “sciences” graduates who technically illiterate.
They have become dupes of the environmental lobby and of the pharma giants, and now are all signed up to the AI bandwagon, not understanding that most AI is driven by its autthors’ ethos.
AI is already blurring the lines between reality and fantasy and I fear that those who control us are not those who are controlling the development of AI, this is ultimately in the hands of the usual culprits, all proponents of World Government.
It’s a shared responsibility, so no one is responsible, but ‘everyone’ benefits, that is ‘everyone’ who matters.
Can you remember when those with Science and Engineering wisdom were allowed to speak? Remember, I the UK, the BBC so Tomorrow’s World, with Raymond Baxter, a former fighter pilot.
They don’t make them like that any more:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Baxter
Isn’t corporatism a partnership? Both sides are getting what they want for now – but for how long will this partnership last? Ayn Rand foresaw exactly what has come to pass.
“How Did American Capitalism Mutate Into American Corporatism?”
How?
World War II and FDR and his admiration of Mussolini’s Fascist economics – State direction of private capital to serve the interests of the State. This required big business leaders, union leaders, leaders of the State to form a triumvirate to rule in their mutual interests. As the Mafia puts it, one hand washes the other.
There is nothing like a wartime economy to get Government and big business romping together under the sheets.
And once Government gets a taste of a command economy, directing industry and has the power to affect how corporations do business, what they make and how they make them, what profits they can keep, it is inevitable Corporations will build alliances and relationships in Government to minimise damaging legislation, taxation and maximise benefits, what they can get in exchange for cooperation – Corporate Welfare – one such being ‘regulation’ which Corporations help write, which limits or excludes competition both external and internal.
Bribery and corruption is inevitable.
And then along comes ESG to keep out the competition and make us all comply.
It has happened in all countries the same way. The left and its values and ideologies infiltrated state institutions, especially universities, and big business. There is a (probably) unspoken deal between them to impose authoritarian control, of the people in the interests of the elites and big business.
This used to be called out for what it is – fascism, but the word is instead now flung at libertarian democrats.
A radical reduction in the size and scope of the state is essential but how can this be achieved when many appear beholden to the state? There are no easy answers but every opportunity ought to be taken to raise awareness of the collusion of big government and big business as well as supporting small businesses and using cash wherever possible.
The state and its “stakeholders”
The IT “issues” Sainsbury and Tesco have experienced over the past couple of days will have done more to focus the sheeple’s attention on the desirability of having cash than any amount of calm explanation about the dangers of letting them do away with it.
It would be a real benefit if Putin managed to knock out ALL our IT systems for a week so that the country simply can’t be run
I am surprised you haven’t mentioned Tesla in this article. It simply would not exist (not in the form it has taken since Mr Musk’s involvement) were it not for huge quantities of other people’s money thrown at it by fawning governments.
Tesla only loses money from selling BEVs.
When there’s a coup, what always happens? They take over the Radio and TV stations.
The difference is that, in the West, they took over the Radio and TV stations first.
Their propaganda has allowed all the actors, in the Military, Medical, Energy, Foos, Entertainment, Educational and Political sectors to work together, seemlessly, so the public are unaware of the absolute change.
I remember, in the UK, schools purchasing the BBC Micro, a fledgling computer for children to learn about programming, pushing out the technically superior Sinclair Spectrum, from the private sector, and no one batted an eyelid!
The BBC have been the most effective organisation pushing the Climate Agenda, the Mask, Medical Intervention and setting the Woke government policies that includes ‘false science’ propaganda, and they are financed by the TV licence fee, enforced by government.
I recommend you read PSEUDOPANDEMIC by Iain Davis it explains all this very well.