Thousands of farmers to descend on London after Met Police green lights ‘tractor tax’ protest

Thousands of farmers are set to descend on London later this month in protest against the government’s extension of inheritance tax, after the Metropolitan Police gave the march the green light.

There has been a growing backlash from the farming community following the decision to extend the duty to cover agricultural properties, with National Farmers’ Union (NFU) chief Tom Bradshaw warning that the government should be prepared for a “militant” response from farmers.

The demonstration has been organised alongside a NFU lobbying event, after the union told supporters to stay away from the city if they didn’t have a ticket saying it could not “take responsibility for people in the streets”.

Clive Bailye, the protest’s organiser and founder of The Farming Forum, said there were 2,000 registrations in the first two hours of the event being launched.

The farmer said he could see the number of attendees “getting past 10,000”.

Mr Bailye, an arable farmer from Staffordshire, said: “They weren’t organising a rally. They weren’t organising a march-type event.

“It was becoming very obvious that farmers were desperate for somebody to take the lead and organise something else.”

He added: “We’re not wanting to take that European, French farmer route of burning tyres in the street and inconveniencing everybody.

“So we’re positively saying ‘don’t bring tractors, don’t cause problems, this is peaceful’.

“We want to keep the public on side. We don’t want to bring the capital city to a stop or disrupt roads.”

The NFU’s “mass lobby” event, taking place on the same day, is being held to allow its members to petition MPs to overturn changes in the Budget to agricultural property relief and business property relief.

The event – which the NFU has emphasised will “not be a protest” – will see 1,800 NFU members, in three rotations of 600, lobby parliamentarians at Church House Westminster.

But the union said there were “legal issues” preventing members turning up in large numbers on the streets of Westminster.

However, the Met Police have since said they have not banned anyone from marching on 19 November.

NFU president Tom Bradshaw said the union was “supporting” the protest, telling BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “What we cannot do is take responsibility for people in the streets.

“There is now a complementary event being organised by a group of farmers. We are supporting them.

“We are organising our event, and we are cooperating and working with the other event, but we are not taking responsibility for the other event.”

He added that the NFU’s event had to be in a “very controlled environment” so MPs “feel safe, that they will want to meet with their constituents”.

In a post on its website, the NFU said: “We cannot risk either member or public safety, or the loss of public support, that could come from what could be an illegal demonstration.”

A spokesperson for the Met said: “We are aware that there are a number of events being planned currently in relation to the recent Budget announcements affecting farmers.

“The National Farmers’ Union have emphasised that their event at a conference centre in Westminster on 19 November will not be a protest. This is not on advice from the Metropolitan Police, and at no point have we banned anyone from marching on this date.

“We will work with any organisation or individual wishing to organise a peaceful protest or demonstration in London and continue to speak with the NFU.

“The Metropolitan Police Service applies the same legislative framework to each and every notification that we receive, without fear or favour, in order to deliver our core policing responsibilities. We aim to protect the public, prevent crime and disorder and minimise disruption to London’s communities.”

A government spokesperson said: “The government’s commitment to our farmers remains steadfast. It’s why we have committed £5 billion to the farming budget over two years – more money than ever for sustainable food production.

“We understand concerns about changes to Agricultural Property Relief but the majority of those claiming relief will not be affected by these changes. They will be able to pass the family farm down to their children just as previous generations have always done.

“This is a fair and balanced approach that protects the family farm while also fixing the public services that we all rely on.”