5 days Ago By Alex Ross
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..
