Farmers are about to begin swarming on Westminster for today’s rally (Image: Getty)
Thousands of are set to descend on Westminster today for a major day of protesting following Rachel Reeves controversial Budget.
After weeks of piling on pressure in the media, hardworking farmers will take a rare day off work today as they pull up in Whitehall to demand an urgent change of policy from the Government.
Ms Reeves sparked fury last month, when she used her first Budget to announce a hike in inheritance tax on farmers, which many warn will , endangering the UK’s food supply and food security.
The National Farmer’s Union is set to hold a day of speeches at Church House in Westminster, before inviting members to march to parliament and demand to see their MPs.
Meanwhile a grassroots protest will kick off on Whitehall itself from 11am, with farmers expected to arrive with tractors, 4x4s, and other equipment.
, who has been at the forefront of voicing anger at Ms Reeves’ tax decision, accusing the Labour government of secretly wanting “to carpet bomb our farmland with new towns for immigrants and net zero wind farms”.
Follow our live blog below for all updates from the huge news day…
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Minister defends inheritance tax raid following £5bn farming budget boost
Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson has defended the changes to inheritance tax as farmers travelled to Westminster to campaign against the move.
Asked if she wanted to apologise to farmers, she said: “I fully understand the strength of feeling that the farming community have and, of course, they have the right to come and protest and lobby Parliament, as we’re seeing happening already this morning.
“But the Labour government, when it came in in July, was having to face some very difficult decisions because of the economic mess that we inherited and the £22 billion black hole in the public finances.
“So, difficult decisions have had to be made. So, I think that that is the backdrop to this.
“I also want to recognise that there is money going into farming. There’s over £5 billion over the next two years that the Government is putting into farming and the number of farms that will be affected by the changes are relatively small.”
Hooting begins as farmers arrive in London ahead of MP rally
It’s almost daybreak here in Westminster and some hooting can already be heard as farmers begin arriving to lobby their MPs later this morning.
Around 1,800 poeople are expected to take part in the National Farmers Union action before heading to Whitehall for a larger demonstration.
Why have the inheritance tax changes been brought in?
The Government has said “difficult decisions” had to be made to fill a £22 billion fiscal hole it inherited from the , and it is targeting the agricultural inheritance tax relief to make it fairer.
It said figures showed that the 7% of wealthiest estates account for 40% of the total value of agricultural property relief, costing the taxpayer £219 million.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed held talks with NFU boss yesterday to quell anger
NFU President Tom Bradshaw met Environment Secretary Steve Reed for talks in Westminster on Monday and said that after “tough conversations” the demonstration would “definitely” go ahead.
He urged farmers to be “peaceful” and “passionate” in their protest.
He said: “It was a valuable meeting. It was a great opportunity to really spell out in black and white why their evidence is wrong, why it has to come forwards in consultation, and what the extreme human pressure is that this policy has created.”
The union chief said he hoped that Mr Reed would “go away now and work with the Chancellor to try and get some sort of resolution” because the policy was “completely irrational” and “not well thought-through”.
Tom Bradshaw outside Parliament this morning (Image: PA)
Labour’s policy will ‘rip the heart’ from Britain’s family farms, NFU president warns
In a speech to NFU members as they come to London to lobby MPs on the issue, the organisation’s president Tom Bradshaw is expected to tell them that the “betrayal” on the tax changes is extraordinary.
He will warn that farms producing the country’s food will need to be broken up and sold as a result of the policy, “because farmers simply won’t have the money to pay this tax any other way”.
“Our request is simple – this is a policy that will rip the heart out of Britain’s family farms, launched on bad data with no consultation and it must be halted and considered properly, taking in the views of the experts not just Treasury civil servants,” he will say.
He will urge members to tell MPs how the policy affects them, their families and their future, and said farmers would not give up or stop fighting the inheritance tax changes nationally and locally in every constituency.
Farmers’ anger has been bubbling since Rachel Reeves’ budget last month
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 £1 million of combined agricultural and business property.
For anything above that, landowners will pay a 20% tax rate, rather than the standard 40% rate of inheritance tax (IHT) applied to other land and property.
What protests are taking place in London today?
The National Farmers Union (NFU) 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.
And thousands more are expected to join a separate rally in Whitehall as they protest against last month’s Budget, which also sped up the phase out of EU-era subsidies as funding is switched to nature-friendly farming schemes.
Farmers to descend on London for protests against Rachel Reeves’ inheritance tax rate
Around 20,000 farmers are expected to protest in Westminster later this morning against inheirtance tax changes in Labour’s budget.
The Governemtn has insisted it is only the wealthiest farmers who will be impacted. They say around 500 farms.
But the National Farmers Union have said it could be significantly more.
We’ll have seceral reporters on the ground throughout the morning bringing you ther latest from the streets of London.