Furious farmers ‘block’ another port after hundreds of tractors descend on Dover

Furious farmers have attempted to block another port after tractors descended on Dover for a go-slow protest.

Farmers behind the wheels of vehicles bearing signs reading, “Stop Substandard Imports” and “No Farmers No Food No Future”.

Another group of farmers reportedly tried to close the port of Holyhead on Wednesday night (November 27) in protest at the challenges they face.

Unverified video footage posted online shows dozens of tractors lining a road at the Welsh port. One vehicle carries a placard that reads: “Enough is enough, no farmers no food”.

Presenter and farmer Gareth Wyn Jones said in a message posted to social media: “Farmers are the last to go out and protest because they have work to do looking after their animals and crops.

“But the frustration, the anger and the chaos that is happening here in the UK with Inheritance Tax and many other challenges to the agricultural sector – that is the reason why farmers are out in their tractors at the ports.”

The farmers are also voicing opposition to the Welsh government’s sustainable farming scheme, which together with the proposed tax changes are the final straw.

Farmers say they are fighting to protect their livelihoods and to sustain rural communities, both of which they argue are threatened by the Labour Government.

The action overnight comes amid outrage from agricultural landowners about the Government’s proposed tax changes, which will see farmers pay Inheritance Tax on properties and land worth more than £1million.

Prime Minister Sir met with the leader of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), Tom Bradshaw, on Monday (November 25).

Downing Street described the meeting as “constructive”, suggesting the “serious, grown-up” Government was directly confronting criticism of its plans.

Mr Bradshaw said he hoped his union and the Government could work together on a resolution over the issue.

The heart of the spat between the Government and farmers is disagreement about how many will be affected by the tax changes.

Ministers estimate some three quarters of farmers will not be affected, but the NFU claims plans to bring together the agricultural tax break with another for business property will draw more farmers into paying.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies said it believes “significantly fewer” than the 500 farms a year estimated by the Government will be impacted by the changes.

Thousands of on November 19 to make their opposition to the reforms known.

Under the measures announced in the Budget, farmers will pay a rate of 20% Inheritance Tax on agricultural property and land worth more than £1m when they previously paid none. There is a higher threshold of £3m for couples passing on their farms.

It also emerged this week that farmers in Wales will not be expected to have a minimum of 10% tree cover on their land after changes to a controversial subsidy scheme.

Huw Irranca-Davies, the Deputy First Minister of Wales, confirmed a number of changes to the Welsh Government’s controversial sustainable farming scheme.

It resulted in thousands of farmers protesting outside the Welsh Parliament in Cardiff Bay in February and has been widely criticised by opposition parties and farming leaders.

Mr Irranca-Davies said changes to the scheme addressed the needs of Welsh farmers while supporting sustainable production of food, as well as climate change and nature commitments.

Changes to the scheme include the removal of a farm-level figure for tree cover, which will be replaced with a scheme-wide target.

Farmers who apply for the scheme will be able to decide where they want to add more trees or hedges on their farm and how many, with funding to support them through the optional part of the scheme.

However, farmers will still be required to manage at least 10% of their farm as habitat.