Farmers’ protest live: Tractors descending upon London as pressure intensifies on Starmer over inheritance tax

Flying British flags and displaying banners, we’re now seeing more tractors coming into Westminster, with around 500 expected.

This is the second farmers’ protest against changes to inheritance tax announced in the Budget.

But when asked if Sir Keir was concerned farmers could get more militant and restrict food supplies, a spokesman for the PM said: “We have been very clear we are not going to change course on this policy.

“It was necessary to take tough decisions at the Budget and the spending review and those decisions remain.

“But our commitment to farmers is steadfast and our message to farmers is clear, that is why we provided £5 billion to the farming budget over two years including more money than ever for sustainable food production.”

We’re just getting the first pictures of tractors arriving in London on the back of lorries.

I’ve just spoken to Liz Webster, from organiser Save British Farming – she believes around 500 farmers are bringing their tractors to Westminster today.

The tractors are gathering from 10am outside Parliament.

The protest comes as the Government publishes a report on Wednesday analysing the state of UK food security.

And MPs on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee will hear from countryside and farming leaders and financial experts on the impacts of the changes to inheritance tax.

Ahead of the protest, Defra said it had put £343 million into the rural economy last week, in payments for nature-friendly farming activities, benefiting more than 31,000 farmers.

Defra also announced new details of its environmental land management schemes, which pay farmers for “public goods” ranging from healthy soil, rivers and hedgerows, to habitat creation and large-scale nature restoration work.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed insisted “our commitment to farmers is steadfast”, as he said the cash was part of a £5 billion two-year farming budget which was “the largest ever directed at sustainable food production in our country’s history”.

A few weeks ago, I visited Frome Livestock Market to hear from farmers on the impact of Rachel Reeves’ Budget.

It’s not easy being a farmer – working in all-weather, long hours and uncertain finances – so the changes to inheritance tax has been viewed as an attack on family farms.

“It’s getting so difficult,” farmer Chris Callow said. “The boys on the large-scale farms have the means to buy up huge stock, but we just don’t have the money to even get started properly.

“I don’t know what we do. We want to build up the farm, but it’s hard. We’ll keep going at it, for the time being, I’m looking at another job in tree surgery alongside this.”

Another farmer called Dominic, who did not want to share his full name, said: “It would appear to be a tax intended to restrict wealthy landowners, but in reality it will end up hitting family farms.

“It has completely missed the target. Perhaps they don’t care, they think we are all Tory voters who will never vote for them anyway.”

Save British Farming is one of the groups behind today’s protest.

Members have set up a petition outlining their demands, which are:

• Ensure fair trade and protect standards: The government must negotiate trade deals that preserve our high standards of food safety, animal welfare, and environmental protection, preventing the influx of lower-quality imports that undermine UK farming.
• Stop the dishonest labelling of food: Current labelling deceives consumers and undermines British food.
• Address the shortage of labour: Immediate measures are needed to alleviate the labour shortages faced by the agricultural sector, ensuring that UK farming remains viable and competitive.
• Provide adequate funding and support: With the loss of EU funding, the government must step up to offer financial support and incentives to help farmers transition, adapt and thrive in a post-Brexit landscape.
• Promote sustainability and innovation: Investing in research, development and the adoption of modern farming techniques to enhance productivity, sustainability and resilience against climate change.

There has been much talk about how far farmers will go in their protest against inheritance tax, with some speculating they could go on strike.

Farmers I’ve spoken to have felt uneasy about the prospect of strike action, given they appear to have the public support at the moment. They fear they could lose the backing if shoppers started seeing shortages in the supermarket.

Speaking to Farmers Guardian, organisers and founder of Save British Farming appeared to hint that they would not push too far in their campaign.

She said: “British farmers have been very well behaved for a long time – although we are not going to [do] anything silly – there will be more coordinated action to put pressure on the government.

“Our message is to save British food security and we want people to underrstand that what this government is doing is putting Britain at risk.”

The honest answer is we don’t know yet.

Jeremy Clarkson has undoubtedly raised the profile for farming through his series Clarkson’s Farm. He has also been supportive of the farmers’ calls against inheritance tax changes.

At last month’s protest, he attracted much media attention as he spoke against the government’s Budget, saying it would be “the end” for farmers.

Today’s protest will see the organisers and some farming guests deliver speeches from noon.

We’ll have to see if Mr Clarkson appears.

Anger among farmers against governments has been brewing for years.

Many feel hard done-by measures brought in after Brexit, including the phasing out of direct payments to farmers, and the bringing in of environmental subsidies.

For many, Rachel Reeves’ Budget was the tipping point.

It includes changes to inheritance tax for agricultural businesses and a faster phaseout of EU-era subsidies in favour of environmental payments.

The NFU has since launched a campaign to stop the “tractor tax”, which it says will impact hundreds of family farms each year.

Last month we saw a protest attended by thousands of farmers in London, today we’re seeing a second protest organised by Kent Fairness for Farmers and Save British Farming.

NFU President Tom Bradshaw said: “The government may well try and draw this out, hoping we will give up over time, but rest assured we are in it for the long haul.

“We will make it clear that this issue will not go away and we will not stop until this awful family farm tax is stopped.”

Organisers Kent Fairness for Farmers and Save British Farming say today’s action is in responde to a “toxic” Budget, that includes changes to inheritance tax for agricultural businesses.

After 13,000 people rallied in Westminster against the Budget last month, tractors are expected to travel into the capital from across the country, including from Exmoor, Shropshire, Somerset and the home counties, for the latest protest.

The action will begin with the farmers assembling at Whitehall, facing Parliament from 10am.

Then, at noon, organisers and some guests will deliver speeches on the consequences of the Budget.

At 12.45pm, the tractors will start a slow drive around Whitehall before returning to the House of Parliament.