Farmers talk strike in protest to inheritance tax changes

The tax, part of Labour's autumn budget, will see farmers pay a 20 per cent tax on inherited agricultural assets worth over £1 million from April 2026 onwards.

Farmers in tractors drive in Parliament Square ahead of a protest in central London over the changes to inheritance tax (IHT) rules in the recent budget with introduce new taxes on farms worth more than £1 million (Image: Andrew Matthews / PA Wire)

A fourth-generation family farmer said there is a possibility he and other farmers will strike if changes to agricultural property relief are not reversed.

Richard Wainwright, 58, from Halifax, was at Church House Conference Centre in central London on Tuesday morning ahead of a meeting with the National Farmers’ Union (NFU).

Mr Wainwright, whose grandfather began farming with a few cows and delivered milk to the surrounding area, said: “We are talking about possibly striking. I hope it doesn’t come to that because that’s seriously going to impact the food chain.”

On the impact on his farm, he said: “We’ve got to possibly sell a 20 per cent share of the farmland to be able to cover the tax bill. For us it’s around £600,000 we are going to have to pay.

Farmers protest in central London over the changes to inheritance tax (IHT) rules in the recent budget which introduce new taxes on farms worth more than £1 million (Image: James Manning) “It’s like I’m going to have to buy my own farm back.”

NFU president Tom Bradshaw told members: “We know that the public are overwhelmingly supporting farmers, the second most trusted profession.”

“They want to buy more British products but this policy undermines your ability to produce more food.”

Speaking to a gathering of farmers, Mr Bradshaw said the policy, which he estimated would affect 75 per cent of commercial farm businesses, “will rip the heart of family farms”.

He said: “The impact for retail prices and shelf prices is going to have to be dramatic.

“It’s an inflationary budget for food production and you in this group have nothing left to give.”

Jeremy Clarkson joins the farmers protest in central London over the changes to inheritance tax (IHT) rules in the recent budget which introduce new taxes on farms worth more than £1 million. (Image: James Manning/PA) Environment Secretary Steve Reed has suggested that wealthy landowners who are the target of the tax change could plan to minimise their exposure.

He said: “The only ones that will be affected – it will be around 500 – will be the very wealthiest or the biggest farms.

“They can plan their tax affairs just like any other business plans their tax affairs as well.”

He added: “The vast majority of farms will not be affected by these changes to inheritance tax, but it’s only right that we ask the very wealthiest to pay their fair share, otherwise we can’t fix services like the National Health Service that farmers rely on and people living in rural communities, just like everybody else.”

Outside on the streets of Whitehall, celebrities including Jeremy Clarkson joined farmers for the protest. Mr Clarkson said: “I’m here to support the farmers, it’s that simple, because they need all the help they can get really, even from me.”