'Farming looks easy when your plough is a pencil': UUP chair of the farming committee speaks out at rally against inheritance tax

The Ulster Unionist, who chairs the Stormont farming committee, made the comments in a speech he wrote written for the rally – a copy of which he shared with the News Letter shortly before the event began.

The rally, organised by the UFU, was called on November 5 in the wake of the Labour government’s budget, in which it decided to end the long-standing policy of exempting farms from inheritance tax, instead imposing a 20% tax on all assets about £1m when they are passed down a generation.

Attending the rally tonight at the Eikon centre outside Lisburn are politicians from across the political divide.

The copy of Mr Butler’s speech read as follows: “In 1956, Dwight Eisenhower remarked ‘farming looks mighty easy when your plough is a pencil and you’re a thousand miles from the cornfield’.

"Today, that sentiment cuts to the heart of the battle we now face for the future of farming families in Northern Ireland and across the United Kingdom.

"My party have always been the champions of our farmers, and as chair of the Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee I will pledge to take every opportunity to challenge these unjust and ultimately damaging actions from the new Labour Government.

“Indeed, two weeks ago, I and my party leader met with the Secretary of State in Belfast, where we made it very clear that under no circumstances could this party ever support their actions, especially on Agricultural Property Relief [the exemption of farmers from inheritance tax], which would wreak havoc to national food security and destroy our farming community.

“This government’s ill-thought-out, ill-conceived, and ill-advised budget has delivered a cruel blow to our farmers.

"By targeting Agricultural Property Relief, the Chancellor and Treasury have thrown decades of family legacies into jeopardy. Young farmers, who dream of carrying their heritage into the future, now see those dreams stripped away by the very government that relies on them to feed our nation. Older farmers, who have worked every day of their lives to hand down their family farms, now find their futures betrayed.

"And it doesn’t end there. The growing government-imposed pressures of un-ringfencing the agriculture budget, failing to provide inflationary increases for too many years, and demanding farmers tackle complex challenges such as TB, ammonia, and environmental targets have left them barely able to keep their heads above water.

“Now, this draconian budgetary move threatens to be the fatal hammer blow – not just to farmers’ livelihoods but to their mental health. For those on the front lines of feeding our nation, this burden is unsustainable.

“Make no mistake: this is more than an additional financial burden. It is an insult to the very people who sustain us. Farming is not just a job; it is a way of life, a legacy, and the backbone of our economy. Governments and politicians come and go, but farmers remain—working tirelessly, regardless of weather, crisis, or politics.

"They are the custodians of our land, the providers of our food, and the heart of our rural communities.

"We cannot stand by as family farms are sacrificed for short-term fiscal expediency. We must coalesce and face this fight together. To survive, let alone thrive, farming families need our unwavering support.

“This is a fight for fairness, for the preservation of a way of life, and for the future of food security in the UK.

"Let us rise, shoulder to shoulder, to ensure that our farmers not only endure but prosper. Their future is our future, and this is a battle we must win.”