Hundreds of police officers will be on duty on Tuesday morning as angry farmers descend on Westminster to protest against Labour’s inheritance tax changes.
Follow LIVE updates as thousands of farmers descend on London for anti-'tractor tax' rally
A row has erupted over the new “tractor tax” for farms worth more than £1 million in a Budget move described as “destructive lunacy”.
Former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson, praised for his Amazon Prime reality series Clarkson’s Farm, is joining thousands staging a rally on Tuesday to Parliament Square spearheaded by children on toy tractors.
Organisers have told those coming that they should not bring their farm machinery.
National Farmers’ Union president Tom Bradshaw said: “I think the industry is feeling betrayed, feeling angry.”
Businesswoman June Mummery alleged “the most enterprising people on Earth are being undermined” by Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget “founded on envy and short-termism”.
She added: “We must collectively and urgently make our political leaders rationally justify this destructive lunacy using every legal lever at our disposal.”
James Melville, founder of No Farmers, No Food, said: “Farming isn’t just a job. It’s a way of life.
“But instead of supporting farmers, this vindictive government is threatening the existence of so many family farms. Stand together with our farmers.”
Over 300,000 people have signed petitions by the NFU and Together Association, which is supporting a demo by farmers taking place from 11am at Richmond Terrace opposite Downing Street.
Co-founder Alan Miller said: “In a spiteful and harmful flick of the pen Rachel Reeves has cast a dark shadow over all our farmers. We cannot afford to have an exodus or scalp them.
“Many see this move by the Labour Government to push farmers from their land and to reconstruct our society in their image. This must be resisted.”
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “We are well prepared for tomorrow's protest.
“Our officers have had positive discussions with the protest organisers who have confirmed their event will begin at Richmond Terrace, off Whitehall, at 11am.
“There will be speeches, before a procession to nearby Parliament Square.
“We will have officers deployed in the vicinity to ensure the event takes place safely, lawfully and in a way that prevents serious disruption.
“We are aware of speculation online that we have tried to ban tractors from the event.
“This isn’t true – we’ve policed protests involving tractors previously without any major issues and we have plans in place to do so again if required.”
Sir Keir Starmer has said he is “absolutely confident” that the “vast majority of farms and farmers” will not be affected by changes to inheritance tax.
Speaking on the way to the G20 summit in Brazil, the Prime Minister was asked whether he accepted that farm owners feel betrayed.
He said: “I think it is very important that we support farmers. That’s why we’ve put £5 billion in the Budget for the next two years into farming.
“Obviously, there’s an issue around inheritance tax and I do understand the concern.
“But for a typical case, which is parents with a farm they want to pass on to one of their children, by the time you’ve taken into account not only the exemption for the farm property itself, but also the exemption for spouse to spouse, then parent to child, it’s £3 million before any inheritance tax will be payable.
“That’s why I am absolutely confident the vast majority of farms and farmers will not be affected by this.”
Farmers have reacted with anger and dismay over changes for farming businesses, which limit the 100 per cent relief for farms to only the first £1 million of combined agricultural and business property.
For anything above that, landowners will pay a 20 per cent rate, rather than the standard 40 per cent levy of inheritance tax applied to other land and property.
Treasury data shows that around three-quarters of farmers will pay nothing in inheritance tax as a result of the controversial changes.
Baroness Mallalieu, a Labour peer and the president of the Countryside Alliance, has said the tax grab “ does smell of incompetence”.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Westminster Hour: “It’s very, very depressing.”
