Angry farmers, but this time in the UK. Day of demonstration Tuesday, November 19 in London, a rare occurrence for British farmers. They are mobilizing against an increase in inheritance tax. Their main union meets with MPs in Parliament. But he is overwhelmed by a few influential farmers who have planned a rally in the center of the capital.
Clive Bailye paces in front of his warehouses where the grains of wheat and barley from his farm are piled up. These days, he spends more time on the phone than on his tractor. He quickly climbs into his office to tell his story. Owner of 300 hectares, the family farm just above Birmingham, he created an internet forum 12 years ago to exchange ideas, good plans and solutions with other farmers. This “Facebook of farmers”, as he describes it, immediately gains momentum. Today there are up to 50 000 unique visitors every day.
When the government decides on a new tax, Clive Bailye finds himself at the heart of the discussions. “It's not voluntary. I never had the ambition to become the leader of a revolt, particularly with political connotations, he says. We didn't see anything coming. There was no consultation and that shocked the farmers. They came to the forum and they were wondering: 'What are we going to do?' The moment the shock announcement broke, I received hundreds of messages asking me: 'What are you going to do, Clive ?' We quickly decided to act. We can do it.”
“A few of us can reach every farmer in the country very quickly. No one else can do that.”
Clive Bailye, farmerat franceinfo
Among the few he talks about is Olly Harrison. Cereal producer too, in Norfolk. Four years ago, in the middle of a pandemic, he started filming his daily life, his tractors in particular. Today there are 142 000 subscribers on YouTube. It is therefore quite naturally there that he indicates the assembly point on Tuesday in London.
He also takes on the role of organizer. “We're going to donate to the food bank just to remind people that we are food producers, not just landowners, he blurted. Then we'll march through central London to Parliament Square with a procession led by children on pedal tractors because they are the future, and we're doing it for them.”
No breakage and no blocking. This time the tractors remain on the farm. But if they get nothing, Clive Bailye warns. “Let's be French! Let's go. Let's block roads and the entire economy until the government comes and sits down to discuss. The most dangerous people are those who have nothing to lose. I think the farmers British have reached this point.”
With a union that they consider too soft, these farmers, who present themselves as “anti-establishment”, have decided to act.
Richard Place's report with angry British farmers
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