Thousands of farmers protest against inheritance tax changes

Thousands of people have protested in London over changes to inheritance tax for farmers announced in the Budget.

Among those marching in Whitehall was TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson, who said “it’s the end” for farmers, as he called for the government to change its mind.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he understood farmers’ concerns and “wants to support” them but added “the vast majority” would be unaffected.

From April 2026, inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1m, which were previously exempt, will be liable to the tax at 20% – half the usual rate. Other allowances could mean a couple who are married or in a civil partnership could pass on a farm worth as much as £3m.

However, many farmers argue that while they are asset rich – for example in terms of their property and livestock – they are cash poor and the changes would mean they would have to sell up to be able to pay the tax.

The Metropolitan Police estimated more than 10,000 people took part in the protest to Whitehall, which has now ended.

Earlier in the day, around 1,800 National Farmers’ Union (NFU) members met near Parliament as part of a mass lobby of MPs where the group’s president gave an impassioned speech. He described the tax changes as a stab in the back, a kick in the teeth and as wrong and unacceptable.

NFU President Tom Bradshaw told protesters the changes were the “straw that broke the camel’s back”.

Later, speaking to Sky News, Mr Bradshaw said Labour had “destroyed” a “contract” between farming and the government dating back to World War Two with its changes to inheritance tax.

“We’d love to pay more tax,” Mr Bradshaw added. “If we get proper margins from food production, and we end up swelling the Treasury coffers, bring it on.

“But at the moment the supply chain doesn’t give us those returns that enables us to save the money to pay the inheritance tax that this government now wants to take.”

He added that Environment Secretary Steve Reed said when he was in opposition that Labour would not change agricultural property relief.

“This industry has been betrayed,” Mr Bradshaw said. “They said they wouldn’t make this change and suddenly they’ve gone ahead and done it.”

The number of farms that could be affected by the inheritance tax change is disputed.

The government says it will only affect the wealthiest 500 estates each year but the NFU and the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) have estimated up to 70,000 farms could be affected.

Among those attending Tuesday’s events was Gloucestershire livestock farmer David Barton, who estimates his 400-cattle business – which has been in the family since 1913 – is worth around £5m.

Mr Barton is worried the proposed changes to inheritance tax could see his son facing a £800,000 bill and said the Budget “has just ripped the heart out of us”.

He is now considering gifting his estate, which he believes would fall outside of inheritance tax if he does not die within seven years, but feared he was not in a financial position to stop working.

Others at the protest said they would have to sell their farms to pay the tax bills.

Jen, a seventh generation farmer from Yorkshire, who did not give her surname, told the PA news agency: “If the Budget goes through, then that means I won’t be able to take her over my family farm because between me and my brother would have to sell up to be able to pay the tax.

“It’s something we’ve both been passionate about from when we were little kids, ever since we could walk, always been involved – it’s a lifestyle.”

The 24-year-old said they would have to pay approximately £1.2m.

“We have spoken to our accountant, solicitors, and once something happens to our parents – unless there is some change, unless there’s something we can do – then it’s not possible for us,” she said.

Jeremy Clarkson, who owns Diddly Squat Farm in Oxfordshire – which features in the Amazon series Clarkson’s Farm – said he thought the change to inheritance tax was “a very rushed last-minute decision”.

“I think we all make mistakes in life, and I think it’s time for them to say ‘you know what, we’ve cocked this one up a bit’ and back down.”

Inheritance tax rules mean the amount people are liable to pay may vary.

• Under the new rules farms would be affected by the 20% inheritance tax on any value above £1m (not on the whole value)
• There is no inheritance tax to be paid on the value of property up to £325,000, bringing the untaxed total to £1.325m
• If a farmer is married, their spouse would be able to pass on another £1.325m tax free, taking the total untaxed amount to £2.65m
• In addition, there is an £175,000 tax-free allowance on a main residence when it’s being passed on to children or grandchildren. This brings the total untaxed amount for a farming couple to up to £3m

Speaking to broadcasters from the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, the prime minister insisted the “vast majority” of farms would be “unaffected” by the Budget changes.

Sir Keir – who highlighted his childhood growing up in the countryside – said he “gets” farmers’ concerns and the government is using the Budget to invest in other areas which affect rural communities, such as hospitals, schools and housing.

Sir Keir said: “I think it’s very important for me to keep making the case that it’s only farms and assets over £3m in a typical case of parents wanting to pass on to their children, and therefore, for that reason, I’m confident that the vast majority of farms will not be affected.”

He said £5bn was pledged over two years “in farming and food sustainability. That’s hugely important for farmers, an additional amount for flooding that impacts them and on disease outbreak”.

When asked if the government would reconsider the policy, the prime minister’s official spokesperson replied: “No – we have set out the reasons we have taken this difficult decision and why we believe it’s a fair and proportional approach.”

Shortly before the rally ended, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch took to the stage to loud cheers as she pledged to reverse what she called “the family farms tax”, which she said would “destroy farming as we know it”.

“We know the burden that farmers are carrying… we want you to know that we have your backs,” she said.

Badenoch went on to list some difficulties farmers face, including climate change, before suggesting that farming is “critical to growth” and warning that young farmers will leave if the tax change goes ahead.

The Liberal Democrats said it was “utter rubbish” to say only 500 of the UK’s wealthiest farmers’ estates would be affected each year.

The party’s environment spokesman, Tim Farron, told BBC Breakfast: “The only way that people can pay the inheritance is get rid of the farm – so corporates buy it.

“It’s cruel, it’s unfair, it’s also incredibly stupid”.