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.
The Reform UK leader and Member of Parliament Nigel Farage also joined in the protests, urging farmers to stage protests in Labour-held rural constituencies. Farage said he believes that “something can be done” about the Government’s inheritance tax raid on family farms.
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
Environment Minister Steve Reed said he did not expect the majority of farmers to pay anymore, adding: “There are a lot of figures flying around that I do not recognize.” The government has said the tax change would affect about 500 farms a year, based on the number of inherited farms in 2021-22, with the tax rate payable in installments over 10 years. But farmers say the numbers affected will be much higher.
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 government’s 500 figure does not include assets like livestock and tractors, they said. The Country Land and Business Association has estimated that 70,000 farms are worth more than 1 million pounds and could be affected. The backlash is only one part of a wider opposition to the Labour government’s first budget since it won an election in July, with businesses warning Reeves’ other tax-raising measures will fuel inflation.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer remains adamant about the government’s stance that a major portion of working farms will remain unaffected by taxation. “It is very important that we support farmers,” Starmer said adding that he is “confident” when he claims that a “vast majority of farms and farmers” will stay unaffected by the revisions to the tax exemptions.
Though the government has attempted to reassure the farmers that the new reforms will only target the wealthiest estates, protesting farmers expressed concerns that the policy would be a direct threat to family farms, destroying rural traditions. The Labour government believes that the changes to the tax exemption framework are required to fund essential public services such as the National Health Service (NHS) and housing.
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.
-By Jyotirmay Kaushal