13,000 March on Westminster to Protest Farmer Inheritance Tax

Farmers came into London from across the country to protest against tax changes, in Westminster, London, on Nov. 19, 2024. Andrew Matthews/PA

Some 13,000 people attended a rally in central London to protest government plans to change inheritance tax rules for farmers.

Farmers, political party leaders, and celebrities were among those who headed to Parliament Square to call for the government to row back its decision to introduce 20 percent inheritance tax on farms worth over £1 million, which farmers say they will not be able to afford.

One procession was led by small children on toy tractors, symbolic of how the plans could impact future generations of farming.

Many at the rally held signs and banners, including ones that said, “No farmers no food no future.”

Opposition party MPs attended in solidarity, including Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, Reform’s Nigel Farage, and Sir Ed Davey of the Liberal Democrats.

Shadow trade minister Greg Smith has said the government does not understand that farms are “incredibly asset-rich but very, very cash-poor” and operate on “really tight margins.”

“The only way they can meet that bill is by selling land,” Smith said.

Farming Will Become ‘Unviable’

Those attending listened to speeches, including from TV personality Jeremy Clarkson, himself a farm owner and one of the stars of the Amazon Prime reality show “Clarkson’s Farm.”

Young farmers expressed concern over how the changes could impact them, and potentially spell the end of the lifestyle they had known since they were children.

Jen from Yorkshire said that she and her brother—seventh generation farmers—would not be able to take over the family farm if the Budget is passed and they would have to sell up.

The 24-year-old said she had consulted her family’s accountant and solicitors, and the tax would amount to £1.2 million.

“It’s not possible for us,” Jen said.

Oliver Atkinson, a farmer from East Hampshire, said that while he was at the rally to protest inheritance tax, “there’s a lot of other things that the public don’t know about that the government has brought in like a carbon tax on fertiliser, which grows 40 percent of the world’s food.”

Atkinson, a fifth-generation farmer, said that farming will become “more unviable.”

“Unless people want to pay more for their food, I am not sure the public are going to be very pleased with what’s coming,” he said.

Farmers protest in central London over the changes to inheritance tax rules in Westminster, London, England, on Nov. 19, 2024. Gareth Fuller/PA Wire

‘Rip the Heart’ out of Farms

Separately on Tuesday, the head of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) warned that the government’s plans will come at a cost to Britain’s farming community.

NFU President Tom Bradshaw made the remarks to 1,800 NFU members ahead of their meetings with MPs to lobby them to pressure the government to drop the measures.

Children on toy tractors during a farmers' protest against inheritance tax in London, on Nov. 19, 2024. Gareth Fuller/PA Wire

“The human impact of this policy is simply not acceptable, it’s wrong,” the NFU chief said, warning it was “kicking the legs out from under British food security.”

“Our request is very simple, this is a policy that will rip the heart out of Britain’s family farms, launched on bad data with no consultation, and it must be halted and considered properly,” he said.

Government Rejects Claims

Since they were announced, the government has defended the changes, saying that only a small number of farms will be affected.

However, Bradshaw said that according to the latest NFU analysis, 75 percent of commercial farms, over 50 acres, will be impacted.

Farmers protest in central London over the changes to inheritance tax rules in Whitehall, London, on Nov. 19, 2024. James Manning/PA Wire

Environment Secretary Steve Reed said, “The government’s been very clear: about 500 farms will be affected and the vast majority of farms will pay nothing more under the new scheme.”

“That figure has been validated now by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility and by the independent financial think tank the IFS. There are all sorts of other figures flying around that I don’t recognise,” Reed added.

Chancellor Using ‘Blunderbuss’ on Farmers

The government has said the tax raid was needed to fill the “£22 billion black hole“ it says was left in the public finances by the previous Conservative government.

It added that the tax would only affect a small number of wealthy landowners who are not farmers but have been using Agricultural Property Relief to avoid paying inheritance tax.

Jeremy Clarkson speaks with the media in central London ahead of the farmers’ protest over the changes to inheritance tax rules in London, on Nov. 19, 2024. Aaron Chown/PA Wire

Clarkson said Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves’s approach was like using a blunderbuss against farmers.

The reality TV star and journalist said, “If she [Reeves] would have wanted to take out the likes of James Dyson and investment bankers and so on, she would have used a sniper’s rifle, but she’s used a blunderbuss and she’s hit all this lot.”

“It was—as I understand it—it was a very rushed last-minute decision and I think we all make mistakes in life, and I think it’s time for them to say ‘you know what, we’ve cocked this one up a bit’ and back down,” he added.

PA Media contributed to this report.