Farmers’ protest live: NFU leader fights back tears as tractors block Westminster over inheritance tax rise

After NFU president Tom Bradshaw broke down while explaining the impact of changes to inheritance tax on farmers, Victoria Vyvyan, president of the Country Land and Business Association also grew emotional.

She told MPs that the tax changes come on top of a “pile of other human pain” that could lead to the risk of suicide among farmers.

“We have very good support in some ways which is why we know about this. It’s not just anecdotes,” she said.

She said a system in Cornwall sees health inspectors visiting farms, who have discovered all sorts of problems some farmers could be facing, including “abuse in the family, children not going to school”.

“This is a big problem that primarily manifests itself sometimes in that last push.”

Tom Bradshaw, National Farmers’ Union president, has called for tax changes to focus on personal wealth and not business wealth, which would lead to a “very different proposal than the one that’s on the table”.

“What’s clear today with the proposal that’s in the Budget is that there is a desire from this Government to change where we are today, so our position is let’s work with you to get to an outcome that works for all rather than the blunt instrument that we have today,” he said, while speaking at the Commons Environment Committee.

Robert Martin, national chairman at the Tenant Farmers Association, said: “If the loophole was supposedly to stop the money coming in outside of agriculture and buying land up, they’ve still left rollover relief in place so they really haven’t stopped that at all and that’s my concern.”

Praising the turnout from fellow farmers and protesters, Matt Cullen, organiser for Kent Fairness for Farmers, said, “I could not ask for more from the farmers,” noting that some had undertaken “six- or seven-hour journeys” to reach London.

However, he lamented the lack of response, saying he had heard “nothing so far” from the Commons or the Prime Minister. He added: “If Starmer can’t hear that lot going past the Commons, then he needs his hearing checked.”

Among those protesting in Westminster is a young woman whose relatives fear losing their farm over inheritance tax. She is asking the government to “come and talk to us”.

Claire Fifield, aged 26, now lives and works in London, but said she regularly takes time off to help her step-family run their farm in Amersham, Buckinghamshire.

Because they are tenant farmers and do not own the land they farm, she said her family fear they won’t be able to pass the business down to future generations.

She said: “The government simply doesn’t understand – a million pounds is nothing.

“I don’t think they have spoken to a single farmer, and especially I don’t think they’ve spoken to a tenant farmer.

“I think they looked at Jeremy Clarkson and went: we’ll have him, we’ll take his money.

“That’s fine – but don’t punish the people who have been farming these lands for generations.”

We’ve said it before, but the issue of inheritance tax changes, and the impact, is a emotional one for many farmers who fear they will lose businesses held for generations.

Today, speaking at the Commons Environment Committee, we’re hearing that Tom Bradshaw, National Farmers’ Union (NFU) president, started crying as he gave evidence.

He told MPs that middle-aged farmers concerned their parents do not have seven years left to ensure they can pass down the farm without paying tax are in an “awful, awful unacceptable position”.

The correct advice had been to keep the farm until death, he said.

“Now they don’t have any way to plan through that and yet they’ve given everything to producing the food for this country in that period post-Second World War.

“They really deserve more self-respect than they have been given by the changes that have been proposed.”

Mr Bradshaw went on to warn of “more severe human impacts” this policy could have, including the risk of farmers taking their own lives.

“No policy should ever be published that has that unintended side effect,” he said.

Addressing arguments that money does not necessarily trigger this response, he became emotional as he said: “It’s not money. This is a lifetime of work, its the heritage and the custodianship of their farm.”

During PMQs, Sir Keir Starmer was reminded of comments he made to the National Farmers’ Union, when he appeared to show support for family farms.

Those remarks have stuck with farmers who say inheritance tax changes announced after Labour came to power will hurt family farms.

At PMQs, Conservative MP Jerome Mayhew said: “‘Losing a farm is not like losing any other business. It can’t come back.’

“Now, those are the words of the Prime Minister, that is what he said to the NFU in order to get their votes, so can the Prime Minister understand why farmers in Broadland and Fakenham and around the country now think that his administration is duplicitous?”

In his reply, Sir Keir told the Commons: “I think everybody welcomes the £5 billion over the next two years that we’ve put in the budget – well, they shake their heads, I’m afraid they do.

“£350 million in the last week alone, compared with the £300 million underspend by the last government.

“On the threshold, as he well knows, in an ordinary family case, the threshold is £3 million and that means the vast majority of farmers will be unaffected.”

The protest is now slowly rolling through Westminster.

Hundreds of people have gathered to watch and plenty of onlookers are holding placards that say “with our farmers”.

Londoners Kim and Sue said they came to the protest to support farmers.

“The government needs to listen to farmers,” Sue said.

The tractors are lined up and ready to go.

Farmers are quickly jumping back into their vehicles and turning on the engines.

The noise is really something.

Hundreds of people gathered to hear the farmers give speeches at the protest, as Sir Keir Starmer answered prime minister’s questions in Parliament.

Farmers addresssed a crowd on the back of a pickup truck in the centre of the tractor convoy, opposite Downing Street.

Jeff Gibson, founder for Fairness for Farmers, said the “cruel family farm tax” was destroying the industry for their children.

“How can we say to the next generation before you start to work you’ll be paying 10 years of tax burden?” he said.

“What future does farming have?”

Farmer Gareth Wyn Jones said: “We are not going to pay the inheritance tax.

“Listen to the people before you go cold and hungry.”

The protest organisers have laid a wreath to symbolise the death of farming.

It was followed by two minutes of silence to remember farmers who have taken their own lives.