EU threatens to slash huge annual payments to Britain's wealthiest landowners
By Jerome Taylor: Published The Independent, 9th November 2007
Some of Britain's wealthiest landowners, including the Queen, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Westminster, would see their farm subsidies drastically reduced under plans by Brussels to impose, for the first time, a cap on the amount of money that individual farmers can claim.
The proposal, being drawn up by the European Commission, is the first attempt in years to tackle the scandal of giant agri-businesses and millionaire barley barons – as opposed to smallholders and family farmers – being the chief beneficiaries of the Common Agricultural Policy. The plans, due to be submitted for consultation with EU member states on 20 November, will suggest that some of the largest payments to super-rich landowners and industrial farms could be reduced by as much as 45 per cent.
Disclosures over the past two years have shown that Britain's elite landowners harvest the lion's share of farming subsidies – a consistent source of embarrassment for the EU's farm policy which is supposed to provide a reasonable standard of living for poor farmers struggling to compete in the global market, not redistribute taxpayers' money into the hands of a few millionaires.
Estimates published earlier this year showed that the Queen, one of the wealthiest women in the world, receives approximately £404,000 a year in European subsidies for her Sandringham estate and at least £140,000 for Windsor Castle. Some of the richest British aristocrats, such as the Duke of Westminster, the Duke of Marlborough and the Earl of Leicester, are also known to receive hundreds of thousands of pounds each year.
Under the new proposals annual payments over €100,000 (£70,000) could be reduced by 10 per cent, those above €200,000 by 25 per cent and those above €300,000 by as much as 45 per cent. That could mean the Queen receiving £181,400 less per year for Sandringham and the Duke of Westminster losing up to £178,000 in subsidies for his farms in Cheshire, Lancashire and Scotland.
"This is a largely symbolic proposal but it will hit the pockets of major landowners and that includes people like the Queen," said Jack Thurston, co-founder of farmsubsidy.org which campaigns for greater transparency over payments. " We've known for a while now that roughly 80 per cent of the CAP goes to the richest 20 per cent of farmers. Those who benefit from subsidies the most have never been the poor struggling farmer."
The plans being proposed by the Commission are less ambitious than previous attempts at reform but they do mark the first attempt to cap farm subsidies since 2003 when a much more sweeping cap was blocked by Germany and Britain.
"This is an attempt to bring in a cap on subsidies in a more subtle way, " said Michael Mann, spokesman for the EU's agriculture commission. "In 2003 we proposed a similar idea that was less nuanced, capping all subsidies at £300,000, but it never got any further than a proposal. You have to live in the real world and come up with proposals that will be realistically taken up by the member states."
Although the British Government officially supports CAP reform it is particularly wary of any proposals that target large holdings because the vast majority of farm subsidies in the UK go to big businesses and wealthy landowners.
According to Mr Thurston's calculations, Germany's collectivised farms would be hit hardest by the proposals, cutting €270m off their annual subsidies while about 6,100 British farms would receive €78.5m less.
Opponents of the Common Agricultural Policy have long argued that the system unfairly benefits Britain's elite by redistributing taxpayers' money towards the wealthiest landowners. The Queen and Prince Charles, who are thought to have received more than £1m over the past two years, are eligiblefor subsidies because of their large land holdings farmed by tenants in the duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall.
A report released by Oxfam in 2004 condemned the way so-called subsidy magnates are able to reap hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of handouts despite being among the richest men and women in England. Its report highlighted in particular the Duke of Westminster, at the time the wealthiest man in Britain, who received a daily equivalent of a £1,000 handout thanks to the EU's lavish farm subsidy regime. Oxfam has called for a blanket £50,000 cap on farm subsidies and that all payments above £20,000 should be disclosed to the public.
Oxfam welcomed the European Commission's suggestions but said far more needed to be done to redress the inequalities within the Common Agricultural Policy. "It's a start and it would be churlish to be completely critical of the proposal," said Claire Godfrey, Oxfam's EU policy adviser. "But what it still doesn't do is actually address the inequalities in the distribution of subsidies."
Analysts also warned that the Commission's proposals could be significantly watered down by the time member states actually come to vote on the issue some time next year and that Britain and Germany were most likely to be the main countries behind any such move. The plans are part of a series of incremental reforms being suggested that will in principle come into force in January 2009 and run until 2013 when the next EU budget will be decided upon.
The proposal, being drawn up by the European Commission, is the first attempt in years to tackle the scandal of giant agri-businesses and millionaire barley barons – as opposed to smallholders and family farmers – being the chief beneficiaries of the Common Agricultural Policy. The plans, due to be submitted for consultation with EU member states on 20 November, will suggest that some of the largest payments to super-rich landowners and industrial farms could be reduced by as much as 45 per cent.
Disclosures over the past two years have shown that Britain's elite landowners harvest the lion's share of farming subsidies – a consistent source of embarrassment for the EU's farm policy which is supposed to provide a reasonable standard of living for poor farmers struggling to compete in the global market, not redistribute taxpayers' money into the hands of a few millionaires.
Estimates published earlier this year showed that the Queen, one of the wealthiest women in the world, receives approximately £404,000 a year in European subsidies for her Sandringham estate and at least £140,000 for Windsor Castle. Some of the richest British aristocrats, such as the Duke of Westminster, the Duke of Marlborough and the Earl of Leicester, are also known to receive hundreds of thousands of pounds each year.
Under the new proposals annual payments over €100,000 (£70,000) could be reduced by 10 per cent, those above €200,000 by 25 per cent and those above €300,000 by as much as 45 per cent. That could mean the Queen receiving £181,400 less per year for Sandringham and the Duke of Westminster losing up to £178,000 in subsidies for his farms in Cheshire, Lancashire and Scotland.
"This is a largely symbolic proposal but it will hit the pockets of major landowners and that includes people like the Queen," said Jack Thurston, co-founder of farmsubsidy.org which campaigns for greater transparency over payments. " We've known for a while now that roughly 80 per cent of the CAP goes to the richest 20 per cent of farmers. Those who benefit from subsidies the most have never been the poor struggling farmer."
The plans being proposed by the Commission are less ambitious than previous attempts at reform but they do mark the first attempt to cap farm subsidies since 2003 when a much more sweeping cap was blocked by Germany and Britain.
"This is an attempt to bring in a cap on subsidies in a more subtle way, " said Michael Mann, spokesman for the EU's agriculture commission. "In 2003 we proposed a similar idea that was less nuanced, capping all subsidies at £300,000, but it never got any further than a proposal. You have to live in the real world and come up with proposals that will be realistically taken up by the member states."
Although the British Government officially supports CAP reform it is particularly wary of any proposals that target large holdings because the vast majority of farm subsidies in the UK go to big businesses and wealthy landowners.
According to Mr Thurston's calculations, Germany's collectivised farms would be hit hardest by the proposals, cutting €270m off their annual subsidies while about 6,100 British farms would receive €78.5m less.
Opponents of the Common Agricultural Policy have long argued that the system unfairly benefits Britain's elite by redistributing taxpayers' money towards the wealthiest landowners. The Queen and Prince Charles, who are thought to have received more than £1m over the past two years, are eligiblefor subsidies because of their large land holdings farmed by tenants in the duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall.
A report released by Oxfam in 2004 condemned the way so-called subsidy magnates are able to reap hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of handouts despite being among the richest men and women in England. Its report highlighted in particular the Duke of Westminster, at the time the wealthiest man in Britain, who received a daily equivalent of a £1,000 handout thanks to the EU's lavish farm subsidy regime. Oxfam has called for a blanket £50,000 cap on farm subsidies and that all payments above £20,000 should be disclosed to the public.
Oxfam welcomed the European Commission's suggestions but said far more needed to be done to redress the inequalities within the Common Agricultural Policy. "It's a start and it would be churlish to be completely critical of the proposal," said Claire Godfrey, Oxfam's EU policy adviser. "But what it still doesn't do is actually address the inequalities in the distribution of subsidies."
Analysts also warned that the Commission's proposals could be significantly watered down by the time member states actually come to vote on the issue some time next year and that Britain and Germany were most likely to be the main countries behind any such move. The plans are part of a series of incremental reforms being suggested that will in principle come into force in January 2009 and run until 2013 when the next EU budget will be decided upon.
Who stands to lose what...
The Queen
£544,000 slashed to £299,000
One of the richest women in the world and a landowner whose farms bring in more than £0.5m a year in subsidies. The Queen's Sandringham estatein Norfolk nets her £404,000 a year in subsidies; Windsor Castle brings in a further £140,000.
£544,000 slashed to £299,000
One of the richest women in the world and a landowner whose farms bring in more than £0.5m a year in subsidies. The Queen's Sandringham estatein Norfolk nets her £404,000 a year in subsidies; Windsor Castle brings in a further £140,000.
Prince Charles
£225,000 slashed to £121,000
The heir to the throne received approximately £168,000 in subsidies for his organic Home Farm at Highgrove in Gloucester between 2003 and 2004, while farms in the Duchy of Cornwall – the 141,000-acre estate which provides most of the Prince's income – brought in more than £135,000.
Duke of Marlborough
£370,000 slashed to £203,500
The 81-year-old Duke,head of the Churchill family, received subsidies worth more than £510,000 over a two-year period between 2003 and 2004. His 1,600-acre Oxfordshire estate, which includes Blenheim Palace and largely farms cereals, brings in just under £370,000 a year. Duke of Westminster
£325,000 slashed to £178,750
A regular in the top five richest men in Britain, the duke receives a healthy remuneration from the EU thanks to his farmlands in Cheshire, Lancashire and Scotland. A report by Oxfam in 2004 claimed his subsidies were the equivalent of £1,000 a day from the taxpayer, compared to the £7 a day in tax credits that a single mother received at the time.
Duke of Bedford
£380,000 slashed to £209,000
The Duke's 5,400-hectare Woburn Abbey is widely known for its safari park, but at least half the land is arable, and has been known to bring in more than £700,000 in subsidies over a two-year period.
Earl of Leicester
£250,000 slashed to £137,500
Holkham Hall, the earl's 18th-century Norfolk seat, is surrounded by 25,000 acres of land, much of which is set aside to grow cereals. The estate's 405 hectares of wheat and 486 hectares of barley make him eligible for annual support of around £254,280, the equivalent of £686 a day.
£225,000 slashed to £121,000
The heir to the throne received approximately £168,000 in subsidies for his organic Home Farm at Highgrove in Gloucester between 2003 and 2004, while farms in the Duchy of Cornwall – the 141,000-acre estate which provides most of the Prince's income – brought in more than £135,000.
Duke of Marlborough
£370,000 slashed to £203,500
The 81-year-old Duke,head of the Churchill family, received subsidies worth more than £510,000 over a two-year period between 2003 and 2004. His 1,600-acre Oxfordshire estate, which includes Blenheim Palace and largely farms cereals, brings in just under £370,000 a year. Duke of Westminster
£325,000 slashed to £178,750
A regular in the top five richest men in Britain, the duke receives a healthy remuneration from the EU thanks to his farmlands in Cheshire, Lancashire and Scotland. A report by Oxfam in 2004 claimed his subsidies were the equivalent of £1,000 a day from the taxpayer, compared to the £7 a day in tax credits that a single mother received at the time.
Duke of Bedford
£380,000 slashed to £209,000
The Duke's 5,400-hectare Woburn Abbey is widely known for its safari park, but at least half the land is arable, and has been known to bring in more than £700,000 in subsidies over a two-year period.
Earl of Leicester
£250,000 slashed to £137,500
Holkham Hall, the earl's 18th-century Norfolk seat, is surrounded by 25,000 acres of land, much of which is set aside to grow cereals. The estate's 405 hectares of wheat and 486 hectares of barley make him eligible for annual support of around £254,280, the equivalent of £686 a day.
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