Clare Balding has slammed the Labour Government for making farmers jump through hoops. Speaking with The Telegraph, the BBC broadcaster reflected on the importance of Britain's rural communities. "In many aspects, the countryside is farmers," Clare began.
"Yes, there are big areas which are not farmland, but a large percentage is. They keep the countryside looking lovely for our benefit, they produce food for our benefit, so it'd be helpful if they were not required to jump through every hoop known to the government."
According to Clare, it's up to the entire country to patch up the current farming crisis. “The idealist in me, (and I am very idealistic) looks at a map of this country and goes ‘right, look at all those footpaths, look at all those rivers, look at all that open space, how can we get more people to enjoy that while supporting the local economy?’” noted Clare.
In recent years, the UK's agricultural industry has come under threat with climate change, extreme weather and rising costs taking a toll. Putting further pressure on farmers, last year, former chancellor Rachel Reeves introduced a 20% inheritance tax on agricultural land. The Labour Government initially imposed the levy on estates worth over £1million, before raising the threshold to £2.5million in December.
A policy that has clearly sparked concerns; as of this month, the number of farms for sale in England has risen to a 20-year high, with 177 farms put on sale in the first half of 2026. Clare, who grew up in the countryside, is one of many celebrities who have spoken out on the matter.
Among them, Jeremy Clarkson, who owns Diddly Squat Farm in the Cotswolds, has used his reality show, Clarkson's Farm, to demonstrate some of the daily challenges faced by UK farmers. The Top Gear star has also shared his thoughts in his regular column for The Sun. "Action is needed now because farmers have reached the point where it is quite simply impossible to make money from growing food," he wrote last week.
"This year, I have 200 acres on my farm where we grew nothing at all. We knew that if we planted it with wheat or barley, we would definitely make a loss."
"Since I started farming seven years ago, the harvest has always been a nail-biting affair because you have to stop when the grain is too wet. Drizzle, dew and even humidity can halt proceedings for days," Jeremy explained.
"This year, though, I have a new problem. The grain is too dry. It's Thursday as I write this and I should be out there in the tractor, but I'm stuck. And genuinely scared. Because all it would take is a discarded cigarette end, or the spark from a piece of faulty equipment and in a matter of moments, my whole crop would be turned into ash."
