- a quarter of all England’s farmland belongs to just 2,500 owners - 20 dukes own a million acres of Britain "most of this country is owned by people like the Duke of Westminster, who has 129,000 acres and a £10billion fortune", says @guyshrubsole.bsky.social www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic... - ThreadSky

pickardje.bsky.social • 84 days ago

- a quarter of all England’s farmland belongs to just 2,500 owners

- 20 dukes own a million acres of Britain

"most of this country is owned by people like the Duke of Westminster, who has 129,000 acres and a £10billion fortune", says @guyshrubsole.bsky.social

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/quarter-englands-farmland-owned-just-34226017

Comments

joshoftenly.bsky.social•84 days ago

England finding out their Country is owned by royalty, "what?! That's crazy." Americans: uh. Yeah, just kill the king and elect Elon Musk. Democrazy is amazy.

susiequin.bsky.social•84 days ago

Thieving b*stards

walze2028.bsky.social•84 days ago

White racist men. All colonizers. Steal from the poor

subsim.bsky.social•84 days ago

That's nuts. Abolish all monarchies.

sandnesharry.bsky.social•84 days ago

Quarter of England's farmland owned by just 2,500 toffs and fatcats
There are more than 100,000 farm holdings in England, covering 22 million acres in total.
---
So 2500 are not real farmers, but simply 'skimmers'.
-A very outdated system.

cathiew.bsky.social•83 days ago

Such posh faces esp the one on the left!

stewchat.bsky.social•83 days ago

Northumberland Percy....

cathiew.bsky.social•83 days ago

As in The Percy family from centuries ago? Masses of in-breeding then.

stewchat.bsky.social•83 days ago

Yes the Duke of Northumberland, check out his wealth...

cathiew.bsky.social•83 days ago

Need to tax him properly then for a change!

petemarchetto.bsky.social•84 days ago

Labour could go for collectivisation and land reform just for the hilarity of watching GB News and the Mail blow a gasket. A nice bit o' Communism they'd have trouble complaining about given they'd only be depriving the er... 'toffs'.

prettyhatmachine.bsky.social•84 days ago

Could try Syndicalism instead to really confuse them.

petemarchetto.bsky.social•84 days ago

That presents me with a dilemma. Do I just say 'Yes' to that, or do I look it up so I can say 'Yes' with confidence without betraying my ignorance? I'll opt for the latter... ouch! Okay, maybe not... though there's a good argument for land to be more so than it is.

prettyhatmachine.bsky.social•84 days ago

Side note: someone being honest about not knowing is refreshing.

Too many people throw in opinions without even checking an unfamiliar term.

petemarchetto.bsky.social•84 days ago

In my defence, I'm pretty sure that's the only thing I didn't know, but now I DO know everything. 😊

prettyhatmachine.bsky.social•84 days ago

Hah!

prettyhatmachine.bsky.social•84 days ago

Basically syndicalism means land is controlled by those who live on it and work it.

The collectivism of the Soviets for example resulted in top down mismanagement in the same way Capitalism does.

No system is perfect but pushing the power to those at the bottom of the hierarchy helps in many ways.

jpofgwynedd.bsky.social•84 days ago

A lot of weird chin action going on there...

stewchat.bsky.social•83 days ago

Are they wearing rich c**ts uniform?

lisatellstruth.bsky.social•83 days ago

Greedy bastards

brennick.bsky.social•84 days ago

Land ownership, royalty and the aristocracy are our daftest things.

nickybshaw.bsky.social•84 days ago

Not to be prolitariate, but rather than honour the Feudal heriditary (excessive) landowners, shouldn't they either pay full CG tax on the land assets annually or donate in lieu of tax % of land ownership to local council for housing? #AngelaRayner #HMRC #RachelReeves

brexodusrex.bsky.social•84 days ago

At last count, 66mn acres of U.K., of which 60mn owned by 189 people/companies that represent them. The crown the largest which we expect as it = government.

But. But. We live and work on 6mn acres. Access to only 10% of our own country.

marcosduran.bsky.social•84 days ago

How are the farmers renting his lands treated? Any feedback from them? US farmers own their land but are being squeezed to death by the agroindustrial oligopolies.

marknew15.bsky.social•84 days ago

isn't the picture on the left the guy from "Babe"......

mikejhughes.bsky.social•84 days ago

He really does resemble James Cromwell / Zefram Cochrane from Star Trek

marknew15.bsky.social•84 days ago

and....
Dudley[LA Confidential]
Skolnick[revenge of the nerds]
LT Gen[general daughter]
warden[Green mile]
Lockwood [Jurassic world fallen kingdom]
......he was also Yokai in big hero 6.[voice]

lealeander.bsky.social•84 days ago

James Cromwell is a dedicated Socialist.

outerfocus.bsky.social•84 days ago

They look like two stages of the guy in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade after he chose poorly.

duncan.wraight-consulting.co.uk•83 days ago

Those immigrants though........

lilacliz.bsky.social•84 days ago

Revolution anyone?

epicurious.bsky.social•84 days ago

Several fields around our village are owned by individuals who live in other counties. Possibly hoping to build on them one day, or just dodging tax. Certainly not farmers.

tommoitfc.bsky.social•84 days ago

Still accepted as the norm…most large acreage owners are not farmers but wealth hoarders.

phineas-c.bsky.social•84 days ago

And you know whatever you do they're so tied up in trusts they're never gonna pay any inheritance tax

ajkitch.bsky.social•83 days ago

Yep. Either handed down via the Norman Conquest, or created by the enclosure Acts, by grabbing common land.

talk2joepublic.bsky.social•83 days ago

Old data but still true

talk2joepublic.bsky.social•83 days ago

This is how it started!

odbof85.bsky.social•84 days ago

There’s a poll too

rand0lf-rand0lf.bsky.social•83 days ago

Tarquin Ole Ole Fangldash Boing (landowner) said his daddy has a castle...

biggirl1.bsky.social•84 days ago

The Duke of Northumberland owns a massive park and he won't allow dog walkers or cyclists to use it. Just not right.

https://www.visitnorthumberland.com/explore/things-to-do/attractions/garden/hulne-park

mattzappa-2112.bsky.social•83 days ago

I wouldn't allow dogs or cyclists in my garden.

alantilmouth.bsky.social•83 days ago

People are free to walk through Hulne Park, preventing dogs is beneficial to both the environment (no dog shit) and the park's wildlife. I'm all for responsible access for people but not everywhere needs dogs (and I have one).

biggirl1.bsky.social•83 days ago

Yet the Duke's hunting dogs poo in the streets and it doesn't get picked up. When I complained I was told to pick it up myself. One rule for us.

biggirl1.bsky.social•83 days ago

Plus I'm not sure it's beneficial for certain wildlife to live in Hulne Park.

markaeaton.bsky.social•83 days ago

There should be public rights of way, like there are over other areas of private land, not permissive paths to which access is granted as and when the duke sees fit

alantilmouth.bsky.social•83 days ago

Tbh I didn't realise there wasn't. I've never been prevented from accessing though I'm well aware of the 'No dogs' policy.

markaeaton.bsky.social•83 days ago

Only within limited daylight hours, and frequently closed e.g. for shooting. If it hadn’t had a wall around it for 200 years presumably there would be proper footpaths without any reliance on his grace’s ‘benevolence’

markaeaton.bsky.social•83 days ago

Oh, and there’s an area of open access land as defined by the CRoW Act that it is impossible to access as none of the permissive paths reach it, and the single gate through the wall on the south side is kept locked 🤷‍♂️

nucifraga.bsky.social•83 days ago

Reporting a typo:

Should be: "his disgrace's 'benevolence' "

😆

haylibop.bsky.social•83 days ago

That looks like the Habsburg Jaw of inbreeding

gillmorgan70.bsky.social•84 days ago

But it’s shocking that they may have to pay IT. Whoops should have said it’s shocking that they don’t pay IT

keithwilliams.bsky.social•84 days ago

Which is awful but fixing it requires another, say, 25,000 people willing and able to subdivide that and run it as farms. Possibly the place to start is with the price grocers pay for produce and make farming more viable at smaller scale

hubertelski.bsky.social•84 days ago

Sometimes my urge to do things the French way is not merely restricted to travel and cooking...

sweys.bsky.social•83 days ago

Vive la République!

avriljonesphoto.bsky.social•83 days ago

Time to turn back the clock - a long way - and reverse the enclosure movement. Take it all off them and give it back to the public. There are countless excellent uses for it, from allotments to parks to secure dog fields.

shablopligh.bsky.social•83 days ago

Did they meritoriously earn a 'right' to own and control this land, for instance, by providing some socially useful labor, info, tech, product or service?

Or did they inherit their property, position, power and privilege from corrupt and violent ancestors?

emr67.bsky.social•84 days ago

Yep, still a feudal country Jim. Even worse in my own country, Scotland…

amann502.bsky.social•83 days ago

Will inheritance tax apply?

trevor0257.bsky.social•84 days ago

The law locks up the man or woman
Who steals the goose from off the common
But leaves the greater villain loose
Who steals the common from off the goose.

The law demands that we atone
When we take things we do not own
But leaves the lords and ladies fine
Who take things that are yours and mine.

amkw1972.bsky.social•84 days ago

We need to legislate for how this land is used for the nation as a whole not just profits for a few, I’m guessing any tenant farmers on those acres will not be getting an appropriate recompense

prettyhatmachine.bsky.social•84 days ago

They could all avoid inheritance tax if they made their farms worker owned cooperatives? 😉

paulgmay.bsky.social•84 days ago

And they have the media at their disposal to make them seem like victims of a lefty regime

heatcb.bsky.social•84 days ago

The more that is written about this the more in favour of this legislation I am and the more shocked I am that this loophole has existed without any coverage

mrmicknl.bsky.social•84 days ago

It needs grabbing back. They never took it legally. My father's family farm of Princetown was simply taken from them.

mike20000.bsky.social•84 days ago

Who knew tax avoidance was a crop.

jfang.bsky.social•84 days ago

A cash crop

cerebell.bsky.social•84 days ago

English royals either look like inbred nonces or supermodels no in between

ftg01.bsky.social•84 days ago

For goodness sake, can't SOMEONE help them out...?

joseph-yossarian.bsky.social•84 days ago

The Telegraph is opposed to these people paying tax. Only little people on PAYE should pay tax

iangornall.bsky.social•84 days ago

Yeah but they’re all sking / no money . lol F em

leplonge.bsky.social•83 days ago

Heaven forbid that they might have to pay a bit of tax 😄🤣😂

junior1138.bsky.social•83 days ago

And Nicolarse Whitchell?

junior1138.bsky.social•83 days ago

Is that James Cromwell?

chiefbosun.bsky.social•84 days ago

And the same dress sense it seems.

ralphfarrugia.bsky.social•83 days ago

There’s two new hospital worth of IHT right there in those photos. Lovely. Have a long life gents.

topkat7.bsky.social•84 days ago

Many were gifted land for serving the royals over the generations.

danbrewster.bsky.social•84 days ago

All since 1066 pretty much.

swalesmetroprof.bsky.social•83 days ago

Bonkers, no one ever made any land (except maybe Dutch)Any land owned today was at some point taken/claimed with a flag, sword or gun (or lawyer). We should change our relationship with land with landowners as custodians of a public asset with responsibilities!!
https://swalesmetroprof.blog/2021/01/04/the-environment-tax-and-wales/

ldw1.bsky.social•84 days ago

📌

osterley.bsky.social•84 days ago

Let's hope they can feed the UK no farms no UK food

roccostoner.bsky.social•84 days ago

What % of the dukes are white?

stewchat.bsky.social•83 days ago

Er all of them...its an inheritance from a thousand years...

roccostoner.bsky.social•83 days ago

Bridgerton lied.

jonnyholland.bsky.social•84 days ago

Labour Government is doing the right thing !!!!

jimmcd0nald.bsky.social•81 days ago

Brexit is a terrible betrayal of Britain and the home-grown oligarchs [the so-called nobility] likewise betray the sham of British democracy. That they should be the expanding owners of farmland is as undemocratic as the royal control of productive land for royal profit, and as dangerous as Brexit.