The UK was last self-sufficient in food around the mid 18th century. Up until the mid 19th we could feed outselves most of the time, but a poor harvest would have led to starvation without imports. S… (View Post)

The rules on the taxation of trusts were changed in 2006. Look when farmland prices start to rocket: https://www.savills.co.uk/landing-pages/rural-land-values.aspx It seems plausible that pre 2006, t… (View Post)

Unfortunately the net outcome of the IHT dodge has been to drive up the price of agricultural land even further out of reach of ordinary farmers. It seems to me that this is a classic case of subsidi… (View Post)

Currently yes, but that is also being changed: the 100% relief from IHT on businesses is being reduced to 50% from April 2026: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-… (View Post)

Eg the Blenheim estate was (IIRC) put into trust back in the 90s in order to avoid it passing to the control of the eldest son whom the Duke regarded as wildly unsuited to own or run the estate. (It … (View Post)