Police and organisers of a massive protest by angry farmers have had to relocate the event in Westminster because Trafalgar Square is not big enough to contain the number of people who plan to attend.
The protest, due to take place on 19 November, is now expected to easily exceed the original 5,000 to 10,000 estimated by the Farming Forum which is organising it.
The gathering of people from farming communities around the country is a response to chancellor Rachel Reeves’s controversial decision to impose a 20 per cent inheritance tax on farmland worth more than £1m for the first time since 1992.
Critics warn that the new tax grab will destroy family farms which make up around two-thirds of Britain’s agricultural base. The issue has been further enflamed by leading Labour figure John McTernan’s suggestion that the country does not need family farms.
A smaller “mass lobby”, limited to 1,800 people, had been planned by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) but such was the strength of feeling on the issue that the Farming Forum has organised a much bigger event on the same day in nearby Whitehall to allow for a major protest.
The Independent has seen details of the planned Farming Forum protest, which asks those taking part to start gathering in Richmond Terrace, by Victoria Embankment Gardens, from 11am.
The march will be led by farmers’ children on toy tractors “signifying the impact of the devastating Budget on the future of farming and the countryside”, say organisers.
It is expected that protesters will be joined by celebrities including Jeremy Clarkson and politicians with speeches outside Downing Street. They will also be addressed by NFU president Tom Bradshaw who has been extremely critical of the government’s announcement.
Ms Reeves has described her tax changes as “fair and proportionate” and has insisted that it will only affect around one in four farms.
There are concerns that wealthy individuals have been buying up farmland as a means of avoiding inheritance tax.
Among the critics is the British entrepreneur Sir James Dyson, one of those to have invested in thousands of acres of farmland.
An email to participants asks them “to wear their boots and wellies as a sign of working people” – mocking Labour’s recent election pledge that the party would not impose extra taxes on “working people”.
It adds: “All attendees are asked to bring with them British produce to make a mass Food Bank donation. To avoid unnecessary congestion at Richmond Terrace, four drop-off locations will be arranged at key transport hubs across London. These will be announced in due course and circulated with a link for financial donations. All food and financial contributions will then be kindly distributed to those in need by City Harvest.”
In a bid to avoid the angry scenes recently experienced in the Netherlands when angry farmers protested by spraying slurry, the email warned: “The organisers remind all attendees of their responsibilities to not only themselves but also the reputation of the farming industry.
“We therefore ask that all attendees ensure that Richmond Terrace and the surrounding areas are left as they are found, including removing all litter and campaign materials.
“Organisers remind attendees that they should not bring machinery. Trouble will not be tolerated, and organisers continue to work closely with the Metropolitan Police to ensure the safety of all involved, given the family nature of the event.”
The Countryside Alliance, set up in the late 1990s to protect rural communities from Tony Blair’s reforms, said it would be supporting the protests, urging its supporters – many of whom are farmers – to stand in solidarity with farming families across the country who have been “thrown under the bus” as a result of family farm tax.
