Farmer protests are set to take place in London and across the constituencies of leading Labour MPs, in opposition to the government’s “awful” inheritance tax raid.
The protests, expected towards the end of November, are being planned by the Save British Farming group, which led a rally of more than 100 tractors to Westminster in March, The Grocer can reveal.
The group is planning action in response to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ budget changes to agricultural property relief and business property relief.
The move, part of Reeves’ attempt to raise £40bn in taxes, has been met with fury across the farming sector. It will see the existing relief rate of 100% cut to 50% from April 2026 for farm businesses valued above £1m – meaning they will pay an effective IHT rate of 20% on assets above the £1m mark, having previously paid zero.
The proposals, due to come into force in April 2026, were “the final straw” for many family farming business, warned NFU president Tom Bradshaw, and a threat to food security. Almost 170,000 people have now signed an NFU petition urging the government to u-turn.
Save British Farming organiser Liz Webster described the changes as “an attack” on the sector which could leave already struggling family farm business with significant tax bills and hamper the passing down of businesses down the generations.
Read more: Why is the budget such bad news for the UK’s farmers?
“I’ve never known farmers and all the connected industries to be so outraged. The government has picked a battle that is only going to get bigger,” she warned.
“This stupid policy could kill off family farms and hasten the industrialisation of farming,” she added, while pointing to how importing food was no longer an easy fallback option. “Look at what is going on in Spain, food security has never been more important.”
Even retailers have been taken aback, with one senior supermarket source telling The Grocer farmers “have every right to be incandescent. They have been shafted.
“If farms can’t pass down generations without a bill what does the government think will happen?”
The NFU – which met with Defra and the Treasury on Monday to outline the impact of the measures, has organised a “mass lobby” of MPs in Westminster on 19 November, separate to any plans for protest action, where members will meet their constituency MPs to discuss concerns about the IHT policy.
But strike action – where farmers refuse to take their produce to market – is also being considered by many farmers, with the potential to rapidly lead to food shortages and empty shelves.
“If we stop taking animals to market it will have serious repercussions. We need to show our teeth,” said north Wales livestock farmer Gareth Wyn Jones.
The government this week refused to budge on the issue, with Reeves telling the Treasury Select Committee on Wednesday that the changes to IHT were part of a “balanced” strategy to raise taxes fairly.
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