UK farmers stage tractor protests over government inheritance tax

Farmers across the UK have taken to roads in their tractors protesting against the government’s ‘daft’ inheritance tax proposals. Photo: Canva

Thousands of farmers across the UK have taken to the roads in their tractors protesting against the government’s ‘daft’ inheritance tax proposals which they say will decimate farming.

In a united show of strength, farmers in Northern Ireland, England and Wales jumped into their tractors and drove around designated routes through local towns to make the public aware of the situation.

The farmers’ main gripe is that from April 2026, the UK government is proposing a 20% tax on inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1 million, which were previously exempt.

Traditionally, family farms in the UK are handed down through the generations, with a zero rate of tax. However, the recently-installed Labour government, under the auspice of party leader and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, is pushing through huge changes.

Ireland and Scotland

There were a total of 7 rallies held in Northern Ireland while dozens more took place in England and Wales, jointly organised by the National Farmers Union (NFU) and the Ulster Farmers Union (UFU), as part of the #StopTheFamilyFarmTax campaign.

Farmers in Scotland were also supposed to be joining the protest but had called their actions off to help with the cleanup following the destruction left by Storm Eowyn.

The unions say the inheritance tax changes would “place an unbearable burden on family farms, jeopardising their future for generations to come.”

“We will not be silenced…”

Farmers turned out in their thousands across the UK to show the government they are rejecting the proposals and that they are prepared to fight the government on this issue.

UFU president and farmer William Irvine said: “The UFU is proud to stand alongside our colleagues in the NFU, NFU Scotland, and NFU Cymru as we demand immediate changes to the government’s proposed tax plans. Together, we will make sure this issue is front and centre in the lead-up to the UK government’s spring statement in March 2025. Farmers are the backbone of this nation, and we will not be silenced.”

A hammer blow

This protest action against the government was launched following announcements by chancellor Rachel Reeves during the budget last October, which dealt a hammer blow to farming families nationwide with changes to Agriculture Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR).

A fair and balanced approach

In a statement, a government spokesperson said: “This government will invest £5 billion into farming over the next 2 years – the largest budget for sustainable food production in our country’s history. Our reform to Agricultural and Business Property Relief will mean estates will pay a reduced effective inheritance tax rate of 20%, rather than standard 40%, and payments can be spread over 10 years, interest-free. This is a fair and balanced approach, which fixes the public services we all rely on, affecting around 500 estates a year.”

However, the farming unions do not agree with these statistics, highlighting many more farms than the government anticipates will be affected.

Farms affected

The NFU says its investigations found that up to 75% of working farms could be affected, with some facing tax bills of hundreds of thousands of pounds.

County Antrim farmer Ryan Johnston said: “For years, the UK government launched schemes encouraging young farmers into the agricultural industry. Now they are trying to drive us out with these new inheritance tax proposals. Our farm has been traditionally handed down through our family generations. For the government to now demand a 20% tax on our inherited assets is ridiculous.”

A sleeping giant

The NFU has already handed a petition containing 270,000 members of the public urging an immediate rethink on the policy. In a joint statement, the 4 presidents of the UK farming unions said: “The public in huge numbers, more than 270,000, have signed this family farm tax petition. It gives us great strength to know that the public are backing British farming at this critical moment in time. The industry is not taking this lying down. The government has woken a sleeping giant, as our mass lobby of MPs in Westminster and the farmer-led rally in Whitehall have demonstrated. The National Day of Unity provided another opportunity to call on the government to overturn this abhorrent policy. It’s a day to come together for everyone who believes that Britain’s family farms, and the high-quality food they produce, deserve better.”

David Exwood farms in Horsham, West Sussex, said: “I’ve got to work out how to pass down my assets to my son in a way that won’t cripple the business. We’re happy to be taxed on profits, not on assets.”