Farmers’ protest – live: Thousands set to march on Westminster in fury over Starmer’s inheritance tax hike
‘Disillusioned’ farmers ‘feel they’ve nothing to lose’ after inheritance tax change, NFU warns
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Your support makes all the difference.Farmers are set to stage large-scale protests in London on Tuesday to urge the government to change course over its inheritance tax plans.
First unveiled in chancellor Rachel Reeves’s Budget, the plans to impose inheritance tax on farms worth more than £1m have sparked fury among rural communities, who have contested the government’s assertion that small family farms will not be impacted by the changes.
The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has organised an event in which 1,800 of its members will meet with local MPs at Westminster to voice their anger on Tuesday, as thousands are also separately expected to stage a demonstration in Whitehall.
Warning of “complete disillusionment and distrust” within the farming community, NFU president Tom Bradshaw – who was meeting with environment secretary Steve Reed on Monday evening – warned: “Farmers are cross, they're worried, they feel they've nothing to lose, I don't know where this ends.”
The government argues that tax exemptions have led to wealthy non-farmers seizing agricultural land and pricing out genuine young farmers, and point to Budget funding of £5bn to help farmers produce food.
Farmers warn 75% of British food production will be hit by Reeves’s tax raid
Rachel Reeves’inheritance tax raid will hit three quarters of food produced by British farmers, industry chiefs have warned, as the government battles a growing backlash over its extension of death tax.
While the government has insisted that only a minority of farmers will be impacted, Tom Bradshaw, chief executive of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), said around “75 per cent of the total farmed area” would be subject to the extended death tax.
Farmers warn 75% of British food production will be hit by Reeves’s tax raid
The NFU’s Tom Bradshaw warned the government had not considered at all the impact on food production
Watch: Farmer accuses Starmer of 'fleeing like a rat to London hideout' after tax protest
Farm incomes plummeted by 50% in a year, official figures reveal as fears grow over ‘tractor tax’
Farm incomes plummeted by more than 50 per cent in just one year, official figures show, amid growing fears over the impact of the government’s “tractor tax”.
Average farm business incomes fell from £103,100 in 2022/23 to £45,300 in 2023/24, figures published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) show.
While the government said the fall in income “followed exceptional highs for some farm types in 2022/23”, in real terms, this is the lowest average farm incomes have been since 2015/16.
Our political correspondent Millie Cooke has the full report:
Farm incomes drop by 50%, figures reveal as ‘tractor tax’ fears grow
Farm incomes are at their lowest since 2015/16, official figures indicate
Editorial | Rachel Reeves’s flawed inheritance tax for farmers demands a rethink
After revealing £40bn of tax rises on business and the better-off in last month’s Budget, Rachel Reeves could – just about – argue that “working people” had not been directly affected.
But anyone in the government who thought her decision to impose inheritance tax on some family farms would be without consequences needs to think again.
It is increasingly obvious that the chancellor was unwise to include farmers on her hit list by announcing that, from April 2026, agricultural estates worth more than £1m will face an effective 20 per cent rate of inheritance tax – half the usual 40 per cent rate.
Read The Independent’s full editorial here:
Rachel Reeves’s flawed inheritance tax for farmers demands a rethink
Editorial: Labour should find a better way to end a tax dodge by super-rich landowners who are using agricultural property relief to pass on their fortunes
Minister says food shortage plan in place as farmers threaten strike action over tax
A senior minister has revealed that plans are being put in place to deal with food shortages if farmers go ahead with their threat to strike over the controversial family farm tax.
In an interview with Sir Trevor Phillips on his Sunday morning show on Sky News, transport secretary Louise Haigh said the government would be “setting out” its contingency plans for the winter, as concerns mount over the furious backlash to a decision to apply inheritance tax to farms.
Our political editor David Maddox has more details:
Minister says food shortage plan in place as farmers threaten strike action over tax
Transport secretary Louise Haigh has said Whitehall already has plans in place to deal with empty supermarket shelves if farmers go on strike
Why do farmers say the changes are a problem?
According to the NFU, while farms may have a high nominal asset value – the value of their land and business assets – the returns from farming are often very low, so farming families may not have the reserves to pay for inheritance tax liabilities without selling off assets.
The NFU’s president Tom Bradshaw said the change had left elderly farmers in the “cruellest predicament”, as they may not live for another seven years to take advantage of exemptions for gifting assets, or to hand over assets in a way that qualifies for the gifting exemption.
He has also warned the changes could undermine investment as farmers will be wary of increasing the balance sheet as they will be liable to pay inheritance tax on it.
There are also concerns that it could affect tenant farmers if landowners no longer benefit from having a tax exemption for farmed land.
Mr Bradshaw said there was a feeling among farmers that the government did not understand food production.
Iconic tractor producer backs farmers in row over tax hike
One of the world’s most iconic rural brands has thrown its support behind farmers who have been left furious at the new changes to inheritance tax rules, saying it’s essential that we “look after the people who feed us”.
Ahead of a huge farmer protest expected in London on Tuesday in what is already being dubbed “rural England’s revolution”, French-based tractor producer Massey Ferguson, a subsidiary of US-based AGCO, has become the first international manufacturing firm to weigh into the debate that kicked off in the wake of Labour’s first Budget.
Massey Ferguson’s UK, Ireland and Middle East sales promotion manager Lindsay Haddon agreed the company “of course” held concerns about the impact of the new tax on farmers.
“Our business and our brand, and that of our dealer network relies heavily on our customers [farmers] to flourish and continue to be able to grow their businesses without fear of persecution or added red tape,” Ms Haddon said in a written statement to The Independent.
Angus Thompson and David Maddox have the full report:
Iconic tractor producer backs farmers in row over tax hike
Farmers say the inheritance tax raid in Rachel Reeves’s Budget will lead to the closure of family-run businesses
Protest relocated from Trafalgar Square
The organisers of the protest have had to relocate tomorrow’s demonstration in Westminster because Trafalgar Square is not big enough to contain the number of people who plan to attend, The Independent revealed last week.
The protest, due to take place on 19 November, is now expected to easily exceed the original 5,000 to 10,000 estimated by the Farming Forum which is organising it.
Those taking part have been asked to start gathering in Richmond Terrace, by Victoria Embankment Gardens, from 11am.
The march will be led by farmers’ children on toy tractors “signifying the impact of the devastating Budget on the future of farming and the countryside”, say organisers.
Starmer doubles down on ‘tractor tax’ claim ahead of huge protest
Sir Keir Starmer has doubled down on his claim that the “vast majority of farms and farmers” will be unaffected by changes to inheritance tax announced in the Budget ahead of a major demonstration over the tax hike on Tuesday.
Asked whether he accepted that farmers feel betrayed, Sir Keir said: “I think it is very important that we support farmers. That’s why we’ve put £5bn in the Budget for the next two years into farming.
“That is not to be overlooked”, he said, and also pointed to other cash that has been set aside in relation to flooding and disease outbreaks. He added: “Obviously, there’s an issue around inheritance tax and I do understand the concern.
“But for a typical case, which is parents with a farm they want to pass on to one of their children, by the time you’ve taken into account not only the exemption for the farm property itself, but also the exemption for spouse to spouse, then parent to child, it’s £3m before any inheritance tax will be payable.
“That’s why I am absolutely confident the vast majority of farms and farmers will not be affected by this.”
Our political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:
Starmer doubles down on ‘tractor tax’ claim ahead of huge protest
Critics claim new tax grab will destroy family farms, which make up around two-thirds of Britain’s agricultural base
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