Rachel Reeves ‘refusing to engage’ amid furious protests against Labour’s family farm tax

Thousands of furious farmers have unleashed their fury against Rachel Reeves inheritance tax raid with a protest in London.

is leading a charge of around 10,000 farmers who oppose the announced at last month’s budget.

He is joined by Reform leader , Tory shadow ministers and farming celebrities such as Kaleb Cooper and Charlie Ireland.

is holding a mass lobby of MPs with 1,800 of its members – three times as many people as originally planned – to urge backbenchers to stand up to the Government’s plans to impose inheritance tax on farms worth more than £1 million.

Many more have joined a separate rally in Whitehall as they protest against the budget, which also sped up the phase-out of EU-era subsidies as funding is switched to nature-friendly farming schemes.

Farmers have reacted with anger and dismay to the inheritance tax changes for farming businesses, which limit the existing 100% relief for farms to only the first £1million of combined agricultural and business property.

Some warn they will have to sell off land to meet the costs and are threatening to strike over the pressures they say they are being put under by Government policy, while there are warnings over people’s mental health.

Farming leaders have accused the Chancellor of refusing to engage with them over controversial changes to , as thousands of farmers marched on Westminster.

Speaking to journalists after his speech, NFU President Tom Bradshaw was quizzed about the apparent impasse between ministers who are defending the policy and farmers, who say it must be rethought.

“We’ve offered to meet with the Treasury to give them solutions to this, unfortunately, so far, Rachel Reeves has refused to engage,” he said.

He refused to spell out publicly how he thought it could be resolved, but said: “I’ve given a heartfelt plea to the Chancellor to sit down with me so that we can sort this policy out.

“The human impact of this policy is one I don’t believe they intended but the longer they leave this hanging, the more I start to think it’s vindictive, rather than miscalculated.”

, 64, who recently had a heart operation, braced the cold to show his support for farmers.

The star of Clarkson’s Farm said Ms Reeves has used a “blunderbuss” to hit farmers at the budget.

Ahead of the protests, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said her party would “staunchly oppose the family farm tax, which threatens our vital rural economy and our food security, with increased costs and a greater reliance on imports”.

She was joined by her frontbench and backbench Tory MPs whose constituents are furious at Labor’s broken promise.

The pointed to figures from the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) that suggest an average 250-acre arable farm will be forced to sell 20% of its land under Labour’s plans.

Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch said: “The Labour Government clearly doesn’t understand, or care about rural communities, and now families are having to sell their farms, with knowledge that has been handed down through generations lost forever.”

In a joint statement, Ms Reeves and Environment Secretary Reed said farmers were the backbone of Britain and acknowledged the “strength of feeling” from farming and rural communities in recent weeks.

They insisted they were “steadfast” in their support of British farming, saying: “It’s why we are investing £5 billion into farming over the next two years – the largest amount ever directed towards sustainable food production, rural economic growth and nature’s recovery in our country’s history.

But they said: “With public services crumbling and a £22 billion fiscal hole that this Government inherited, we have taken difficult decisions.

“The reforms to agricultural property relief ensure that wealthier estates and the most valuable farms pay their fair share to invest in our schools and health services that farmers and families in rural communities rely on.”