Farmers’ protest – live: Thousands set to march on Westminster in fury over Starmer’s inheritance tax hike
‘Disillusioned’ farmers ‘feel they’ve nothing to lose’ after inheritance tax change, NFU warns
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Your support makes all the difference.Farmers are set to stage large-scale protests in London on Tuesday to urge the government to change course over its inheritance tax plans.
First unveiled in chancellor Rachel Reeves’s Budget, the plans to impose inheritance tax on farms worth more than £1m have sparked fury among rural communities, who have contested the government’s assertion that small family farms will not be impacted by the changes.
The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has organised an event in which 1,800 of its members will meet with local MPs at Westminster to voice their anger on Tuesday, as thousands are also separately expected to stage a demonstration in Whitehall.
Warning of “complete disillusionment and distrust” within the farming community, NFU president Tom Bradshaw – who was meeting with environment secretary Steve Reed on Monday evening – warned: “Farmers are cross, they're worried, they feel they've nothing to lose, I don't know where this ends.”
The government argues that tax exemptions have led to wealthy non-farmers seizing agricultural land and pricing out genuine young farmers, and point to Budget funding of £5bn to help farmers produce food.
Farms exemption is ‘most effective way for super-rich to avoid tax’, says minister
Ahead of the protests, environment secretary Steve Reed defended the changes as “fair and balanced”, saying it would only affect 500 estates a year and small family farms would not be hit.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Reed said exemptions for agricultural land had led to wealthy individuals from non-farming backgrounds buying up land to avoid paying inheritance.
That had forced up rural land prices, “robbing young farmers of the dream of owning their own farm”.
And he said: “It’s become the most effective way for the super-rich to avoid paying their inheritance tax – and it’s costing other taxpayers a whopping £200m.”
Watch: Louise Haigh defends Labour’s Budget measures ahead of farmer tax protest
Why are farm owners demonstrating over inheritance tax?
From April 2026, landowners who inherit agricultural assets worth more than £1m will have to pay 20 per cent inheritance tax (IHT) on them. These assets were previously entirely exempt from the tax under the agricultural property relief law.
Under the new rules, the 20 per cent levy – which is half of the standard 40 per cent rate – will be charged on assets above the £1 million threshold only. Also unlike regular IHT, the levy can be paid in interest-free instalments over a ten-year period.
The exemption is stacked with other IHT relief measures. Inheritance tax is already not paid if the value of the estate being passed on is worth under £325,000, plus £175,000 for a home under certain conditions.
For a farm owned by two people, this means the effective tax-free amount passed on is £3m when combining both their allowances plus each getting the £1m agricultural relief.
My colleague Albert Toth has more details here:
Farmers’ protest: Why are farm owners demonstrating over inheritance tax?
Tens of thousands of farm owners expected to hold major demonstration in London on Tuesday
Full story: Farmers set to protest over ‘completely unacceptable’ inheritance tax changes
Large demonstrations by farmers are expected in London on Tuesday as they fight to reverse “absolutely unacceptable” changes to inheritance tax.
The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) is holding a mass lobby of MPs with 1,800 of its members – three times as many people as originally planned – to urge backbenchers to stand up to the Government’s plans to impose inheritance tax on farms worth more than £1 million.
And thousands more are expected to join a separate rally in Whitehall as they protest against last month’s Budget, which also sped up the phase out of EU-era subsidies as funding is switched to nature-friendly farming schemes.
Celebrities including TV presenter and farmer Jeremy Clarkson – who told the Times in 2021 that avoiding inheritance tax was “critical” in his decision to buy land – are expected to join the rally.
Emily Beament reports:
Farmers set to protest over ‘completely unacceptable’ inheritance tax changes
Government is insisting the introduction of inheritance tax on farm businesses worth more than £1m is ‘fair’ and closes a loophole.
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