Farmers ignore tractor ban and bring inheritance tax protest to Westminster

Farmers person driven a convoy of tractors into Westminster connected fund time implicit projected inheritance taxation changes.

They came contempt Metropolitan Police restrictions banning cultivation machinery from the area.

One tractor was parked extracurricular Parliament connected Abingdon Street bearing the slogan "Fools ballot Labour", with much seen driving done Westminster connected Wednesday morning.

Police stopped astir 20 tractors successful the area, including 1 with a husbandman dressed arsenic Father Christmas whose tractor was parked connected Whitehall and carried a ample spruce histrion with a motion reading: "Farmer Christmas - the naughty list: Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves, David Lammy, Diane Abbott, Angela Rayner & the BBC."

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Tractors were banned from Whitehall due to the fact that of the "serious disruption" they whitethorn origin to the section area, including businesses, exigency services and the public, constabulary said successful a connection connected Tuesday.

The unit added that radical would inactive beryllium capable to demonstrate, but that they indispensable stay successful a specified country successful Richmond Terrace, Whitehall.

The protestation comes arsenic choler continues implicit Chancellor Rachel Reeves's program to present a 20% inheritance taxation connected cultivation onshore and businesses worthy much than £1m from April 2026. The assemblage is already struggling with rising costs, pugnacious marketplace conditions and the worsening interaction of clime change.

One of the organisers of the protestation is Dan Willis, who owns Rookery Farms adjacent Newbury successful Berkshire.

He told Sky News correspondent Dan Whitehead that helium was "absolutely devastated" erstwhile the radical was told the objection couldn't hap anymore, adding that it was "very hard to get the connection retired to everybody".

"They were coming anyway, truthful unluckily the Met person scored an ain extremity here. They created carnage," Mr Willis said.

"We cognize it's travel from government. We cognize they don't privation to perceive to us, whether it's successful the House oregon connected the street, but we request a road. We request to workout our close to protest. At the extremity of the day, that's what's happening today."

He added: "These are each autarkic farmers who person travel of their ain volition.

"It's specified an emotive issue. You're talking astir decease and losing family, a household asset, which is however we gain our living. And by the way, producing food, taxing the moving radical of this country, it's intolerable for america to spell on."

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Wednesday's protestation is the latest successful a drawstring of demonstrations by farmers against projected changes to inheritance tax.

Farmers drove their tractors to Whitehall successful December, with thousands of radical protesting the determination they accidental volition enactment their businesses and futures and the country's nutrient information astatine risk.