Actor-turned-farmer Kelvin Fletcher has shared his thoughts on the farming inheritance tax row which has sparked protests against Keir Starmer’s government recently.
The former Emmerdale star launched a new life for himself and his family in 2021 when they decided to buy a 120-acre farm in the Peak District, and has since shared his new lifestyle in several documentaries.
Fletcher, 40, his wife Liz and their four young children now run a small farm in England’s central-northern location.
He has happily shared the family’s new way of life since making the huge change, and on Saturday he gave his opinion on the current inheritance tax row.
Recent protests focused on Labour’s proposed inheritance tax changes that would affect farmers with businesses worth more than £1million.
The controversial plans would impose a 20 per cent inheritance tax on agricultural businesses exceeding this threshold, and has seen thousands of demonstrators fighting against the changes in recent weeks.
The Fletchers’ Family Farm Christmas special sees the family travel to Finland
ITV
Fletcher was asked for his take on the issue during a television appearance on Saturday, where he argued he felt “valued”.
BBC Breakfast presenter Roger Johnson addressed the controversy, highlighting how Jeremy Clarkson had been a vocal attendee of the protests.
The former soap star appeared on the show to discuss the latest in his farming series, a Christmas special of Fletchers’ Family Farm, set to air on ITV on Sunday. The episode sees the family traveling to Finland to observe how a family farm operates in the Arctic Circle.
Johnson told Fletcher: “In terms of attitudes – I mean, I’m thinking, we’ve had farmers protests over inheritance tax changes and by the Labor government, we have had other programs like Jeremy Clarkson’s Farm highlighting how difficult it is farming.”
He went on to probe: “Did the farmers you met, did they feel they had more support, or did they feel supported by kind of the overall system in their country compared to this one?”
Kelvin Fletcher shared his thoughts on the farmers’ protests
BBC
“I can’t speak on behalf of British farmers, let alone Finnish farmers,” Fletcher responded.
“I can only kind of ever give out our take,” he made clear before adding: “We felt immensely part of a real, special community that really looks after one another, and is really proud of what they do. And that was very similar over in Finland.
“Do you think they felt valued?” BBC Breakfast co-host Naga Munchetty asked, continuing: “Because I think sometimes here, farmers don’t feel valued by city dwellers, for want of a better word, people who don’t have a clue what it’s like.”
“I think for me, I personally don’t want to seek any sort of validation elsewhere,” Fletcher replied.
“I know how valued we are as a family and what we do in our small family farm, and I share that with every other family farm.
“You know, you take great pride in producing food and having a real acknowledgement towards nature, towards the habitat.
“You’re custodian of the land, and it’s a privilege. And I think I said in episode one of our show, you know, that it’s a real privilege, and to give our kids that sort of life and that understanding as well, and programs like ours hopefully bridge that gap and give people an understanding of where your food comes from, who produces the food, why they’re producing it.
“And once you get an understanding of something like any subject and appreciation follows, and that’s what we hope you and endeavor to do.”
Addressing the financial difficulties of farming pointed out by those in the industry lately, Johnson added: “There was one thing that Jeremy Clarkson said, I think it was the end of series one when he said how little money he made that year.
“[He] literally had four pounds. He said, ‘You know, what’s it like for other farmers?’ Because they don’t have a series of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire or The Grand Tour to to fall back on.
“And obviously, you had your very successful acting career, and then you made a very different move.
“Does that help – do you need to rely on that in order to help make the farm work? Or can the farm standing?”
“I think every farm is different,” the actor explained. “You know, there’s many farmers out there with second jobs, and I guess I’m one of those farmers with another job.
“I think, like I said, it’s a small family farm. Yes, there’s a commercial endeavor there, but I think we’re very mindful that this is a lifestyle change as well for us, and that, for me, is just as important as what it does commercially.”
