Protesting farmers at a tractor rally in Westminster have warned “we are at breaking point” as they called on the government to scrap planned changes to inheritance tax on farms.
Protesters staged another tractor protest outside Parliament and Downing Street on Monday, organised by Save British Farming, as they continued to campaign against Labour’s plans to introduce a 20 per cent inheritance tax rate on farms worth more than £1m.
Changes announced in the Budget are due to come into force in April 2026 and scrap an exemption which meant no inheritance tax was paid to pass down family farms.
And it comes as MPs debate an e-petition with more than 148,000 signatures calling to keep the current inheritance tax exemptions for working farms.
Speaking to City AM, Julie, an arable farmer from Oxfordshire, said: “You don’t realise how important farmers are for the country, for the rural communities.
“There’s loads of issues, increased costs, you name it. We are at breaking point and really this inheritance tax is the final nail in the coffin for us.”
While Charles Naylor, from Rutland, added: “I don’t think the Labour Party has got any idea of life in the real world. Business, farming, hospitality, none of the front team have had any experience in business – they’re clueless.”
He stressed: “Farmers, they don’t sell the farm when someone dies. It just carries on from one generation to the next, that’s why this tax is so devastating.”
And Will Denton, a family farmer from Berkshire, said: “The biggest issue [with the new tax] is we haven’t had time to sort out other contingencies.
“My grandpa, he’s 94. He’s got everything… and we’ve suddenly had this tax thrown at us and it will just completely cripple the business.”
Conservative MP and former minister James Cleverly was among the politicians meeting the protesters.
He said: “This was an incredibly poorly thought through policy. The maths underpinning it was wrong… farms that have diversified get hit twice.”
The MP for Braintee added: “It’s particularly the family farms that will suffer.
“If you’re happy with the countryside being bought up by giant investment farmers who are gonna cover it in solar panels and not produce food, fine.
“But I’m not happy with that and I don’t think the British public should be either.”
The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) – which has organised previous protests on the issue – said it supports any of its members taking part on Monday.
NFU president Tom Bradshaw said: “The strength of feeling around the proposed family farm tax is still incredibly high.
“We support any members who want to take part in other respectful and lawful demonstrations which work towards our aim to stop the family farm tax.”