Thousands of farmers protested at Britain’s parliament on Tuesday, some driving tractors through central London, to demand the scrapping of an inheritance tax that they say will destroy family farms and threaten food production. The measure, dubbed the “tractor tax” by critics was announced in the new government’s budget last month. It has drawn considerable backlash from farmers who say the ruling Labour Party does not understand rural communities.
Seeking to raise funds to fix public services, UK’s Finance Minister Rachel Reeves announced in October that farmers with land worth more than 1 million pounds ($1.26 million) will no longer be able to leave their farms to their children tax-free from 2026. From April 2026, inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1m, which were previously exempt, will be liable to the tax at 20% – half the usual inheritance tax rate.
Opposition to the “tractor tax” is one part of a wider backlash against Ms. Reeves’s financial plans. Farmers argue that while they are asset-rich with land and livestock the new changes would mean they would have to sell up to be able to pay the tax. Ahead of the protest, around 1,800 National Farmers’ Union (NFU) members met near Parliament as part of a mass lobby of MPs.
Some of Britain’s biggest companies have also warned that the increases to employers’ social security contributions will fuel inflation. Farmers say that while their land and machinery have a high value, the farms themselves have low-profit margins, meaning their children would have to sell land to cover the tax bill.
The Protest
An estimated 20,000 farmers and their families took part in the huge Westminster rally against Labour’s “tractor tax”. Lines of tractors reached London to begin one of the most major farmer’s agitations in the United Kingdom. Protestors were seen holding posters and banners reading “Keir Starmer Farmer Harmer”. Along with more than 1800 members of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), its president Tom Bradshaw, and thousands of farmers, TV presenter and farm owner Jeremy Clarkson and other noted personalities were also seen taking part in the farmers’ protest in Westminster.
IT’S HAPPENING
Nigel Farage has joined the massive farmers protest in London.
The farmers are standing up for freedom.pic.twitter.com/nyQMWJ6BU1
— PeterSweden (@PeterSweden7) November 19, 2024
Response from the Government
🇬🇧 “BOOOOOOO!”
Thousands of protestors at the British Farmers protest in London collectively Boo Rachel Reeves and the Labour Government https://t.co/Gqb9uiu5KU pic.twitter.com/ImJ6E28ITN
— VoxPopuli (@vpopulimedia) November 19, 2024
The farmers remain unmoved by the claims of the government, NFU president Tom Bradshaw has said that around 75% of the working farms will fall under the scope of the agricultural inheritance tax. He also called the tax imposition a “stab in the back”. Farmers say they are already suffering from unfair competition as cheaper imported produce does not have to meet the same environmental and welfare standards, while their incomes have also been squeezed by supermarkets. Farmers also warn that the move will severely damage the food supply and production capability of the country.
