Farmers remain in deadlock with the government over tax after a day of protests in which hundreds of tractors were driven through Westminster.
As a stark report from Defra revealed Britain produced less than two-thirds of its consumed food last year, the countryside arrived outside parliament in protest over changes to inheritance tax.
National Farmers’ Union (NFU) president Tom Bradshaw fought back tears as he told of the risk of farmers taking their own lives as a result of the levy, in an impassioned speech to an Environment Committee.
Outside, an estimated 500 tractors blocked Whitehall before they were driven on a slow and noisy procession around Westminster, displaying banners accusing Sir Keir of destroying the family farm.
However, when confronted over the controversial changes to the levy, which farmers claim will force the sale and even closure of family businesses, Sir Keir remained resolute on his party’s line.
“The vast majority of farmers will be unaffected,” Sir Keir told Prime Minister’s Questions, before accusing opposition political parties of “fearmongering” over the highly sensitive issue.
The NFU said it had attempted to engage with Labour on the plans, which will see farmers pay a 20 per cent inheritance tax rate on farms worth more than £1m from April 2026.
But Mr Bradshaw said there had been no action from the government following a meeting with Sir Keir last month.
Farming campaign groups said the government must back down.
Following Wednesday’s protest in London, leaders said they were already planning more tractor protests in towns and cities where Labour ministers hold parliamentary seats.
Liz Webster, founder of Save British Farming, told The Independent: “We will fill the towns of every single Labour MP, particularly if they are ministers – they are all on the target list – until the government backs down.”
On speculation of strikes leading to food shortages in supermarkets, Ms Webster refused to rule out the option. “We have not organised anything but we are open to co-ordinating with others, it’s a mass effort,” she said.
Some farmers drove up to eight hours in their tractors from as far away as Exmoor to reach Westminster. The heavy vehicles began rumbling into Whitehall from 10am as the Environment Committee, exploring the impact of the tax changes, started.
As Sir Keir was grilled on the plan at PMQs, first by Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey and then Tory MP Jerome Mayhew, the farmers gathered near Downing Street for speeches off the back of a pick-up truck.
An hour later, they got back inside their tractors and took part in a slow procession on a loop route in Westminster.
Waving British flags and sounding their horns, they also displayed signs that read: “No farmers, no food”, “Not hungry, thank a farmer”, and “Save British Farming”.
David Catt, a vegetable and herb farmer from Maidstone in Kent, said the inheritance tax would ruin many family-owned farms.
“These are all generational farmers, so the value of the land they’re working is irrelevant to what they do,” he said. “The trouble is the money you’re getting out of the land does cover the inheritance tax.”
Asked whether further strike action could cause food shortages, Mr Catt said: “We’re trying to get the public on side by doing these public protests. All we’re doing is asking the government to rethink this legislation.
“If we don’t get any change, things could escalate up, we could bring the country to a standstill … [but] we don’t want it to come to that.”
Beef and arable farmer Edward Ford, who travelled from Dorking in Surrey, said the tax changes would impact his family.
“I’ve spent the last 30 years increasing and buying land, and I now have quite a large farm for the area,” he said. “I’ve taken no profits, knowing we can pass it on.”
His daughter Harriet, 25, is already a partner in the farm, which has been in the family for nearly 100 years. She said: “It’s very uncertain and very unfair, I think it’s just completely unfair.”
Inside the environment committee, representatives from farming groups, including Mr Bradshaw, said they had written to Sir Keir asking for a pause in changes to inheritance tax and a consultation.
Mr Bradshaw fought back tears as he warned of the “more severe human impacts” this policy could have, including the risk of farmers taking their own lives.
Addressing arguments that money does not necessarily trigger this response, he became emotional as he said: “It’s not money. This is a lifetime of work, its the heritage and the custodianship of their farm.”
Ms Webster, who helped organise Wednesday’s protest, said: “The responsibility of the farm is everything, so you would feel a failure who ends up losing the farm, and that’s why it is such a cruel act of Starmer to do this, and he’s got to listen.
“It’s just unthinkable that Keir Starmer and his advisers are doing this. It makes Boris Johnson and his Partygate minuscule, this is outrageous. This fight will continue.”
The protest came on the same day the 2024 Food Security Report was published by Defra. It showed, in the UK, of all food consumed in 2023, 62 per cent was homegrown, well below the modern-day peak of 78 per cent in 1984.
An argument put forward by farming campaign groups is that the phasing out of direct payments, replaced by environment-led subsidies, will push more land away from food production.
They claim that the inheritance tax will further see more farming land sold off as farmers bid to pay the bill.
Several councils – North Northamptonshire, Devon, Harborough, Staffordshire Moorlands, Oxfordshire and Cambridgeshire – have so far voted motions to oppose the changes to inheritance tax.
Mo Metcalf-Fisher, director of external affairs for the Countryside Alliance, said: “If the chancellor will not listen and work with the farming community to rethink this policy, the battle with the countryside will simply become a long running sore.”
But Downing Street reiterated the government’s view that only a small number of farmers would be affected by changes.
Asked whether the prime minister had a message for farmers who are protesting in Westminster on Wednesday, Sir Keir Starmer’s official spokesman said: “This Government recognises that food security is national security; that’s why we remain steadfast in our support for farmers.”
Asked whether there would be any rethink on inheritance tax, the spokesman added: “No. We have been clear that we understand the strength of feeling about the changes, but we are clear this will only affect a small number of estates.
“Three-quarters of estates will be unaffected by these changes, but the government’s commitment to farmers is steadfast.”
