Jo Franklin has been farming most of her life and set up a sheep dairy business with her husband Rob 13 years ago, but this “isn’t viable anymore”, she says.
A farming family said they’re ditching the UK for France. (Image: Getty)
A farming family is ditching the UK for France as Labour’s impending inheritance tax (IHT) reforms push them away. Jo Franklin has been farming most of her life in Hertfordshire and set up a sheep dairy business with her husband Rob 13 years ago, which she says now “isn’t viable anymore”. She told The Times: “We’re passionate about what we do and very good at it. But since the new Government came in, we’ve realised our business isn’t viable any more.
“So we’ve decided to sell our farm in England, move our family to France and start again as farmers there. We feel we have no choice.” The family own a five-bedroom farmhouse near Ware, and a 64-acre smallholding where they run their sheep dairy business, with 300 milking ewes.
Limousin in France is known for its beef farming. (Image: Getty)
Farmers abandon UK for France as Keir Starmer ‘gives them no choice’
Jo Franklin has been farming most of her life and set up a sheep dairy business with her husband Rob 13 years ago, but this “isn’t viable anymore”, she says.
A farming family said they’re ditching the UK for France. (Image: Getty)
A farming family is ditching the UK for France as Labour’s impending inheritance tax (IHT) reforms push them away. Jo Franklin has been farming most of her life in Hertfordshire and set up a sheep dairy business with her husband Rob 13 years ago, which she says now “isn’t viable anymore”. She told The Times: “We’re passionate about what we do and very good at it. But since the new Government came in, we’ve realised our business isn’t viable any more.
“So we’ve decided to sell our farm in England, move our family to France and start again as farmers there. We feel we have no choice.” The family own a five-bedroom farmhouse near Ware, and a 64-acre smallholding where they run their sheep dairy business, with 300 milking ewes.
Limousin in France is known for its beef farming. (Image: Getty)
It comes as Daily Express Save Britain’s Family Farms continues to campaign against brutal inheritance tax changes that threaten to put farmers out of business. The crusade has shown how farming families will be ruined by the proposed policy of applying a 20% inheritance tax on farms worth more than £ 1 million.
This measure will make it financially punishing – if not impossible – for farmers to pass on land to their sons and daughters.
The Government is adamant that three-quarters of farmers will pay nothing. But campaigners robustly contest these figures, believing the real figure will worsen over time.
The family run a sheep dairy business. (Image: Getty)
The Franklins are also tenant farmers across another 1,800 acres, which are home to 2,000 commercial sheep for meat, and do arable farming.
Jo said their attitudes began to change once the Labour Government came into power last year, which she said exacerbated the “race to the bottom”.
She said: “But when this government came in, we sensed the future was not going to be good. Things were already difficult. Since the Second World War, food production has been subsidised by the government.
“And they’ve continued to do it, to keep food cheap and voters happy. The supermarkets have so much power, while farmers have none – and it’s a race to the bottom in terms of quality.”
The Franklin family are now moving to the picturesque French region of Limousin, known for its beef farming and distinctive cattle.
Jo said France wasn’t previously an attractive option as IHT is high, but after Labour’s reforms kick in, it “will be about the same”.
She added: “The difference is, we will be able to run a profitable enough business in France to put cash aside for the children to be able to pay inheritance tax.
“What appeals about France is, the land is cheaper and the country is invested in food. Consumers care about what they eat.”
