Farmers bring tractors to Budget day protest despite Met police ban
Police said the decision to ban agricultural machinery from Whitehall had been taken because of ‘serious disruption’ the vehicles may cause.
Farmers have brought tractors to a Budget day protest against proposed inheritance tax changes despite a police ban on agricultural machinery in Westminster.
The Metropolitan Police said on Tuesday evening conditions have been put in place to prevent people bringing vehicles including tractors and agricultural vehicles to the protest in Whitehall.
But more than a dozen tractors could be seen parked outside Parliament on Wednesday morning, with rush-hour traffic brought to a standstill and farmers repeatedly sounding the tractor horns while police stood watching.
David Gunn, an arable farmer and agricultural contractor from near Sevenoaks in Kent, said he was protesting on Budget day for a number of reasons, including the Government move to put inheritance tax on farm businesses worth more than £1 million.
He said: “Inheritance tax is one reason, it’s going to cripple the farmers, the small family farmers.
“There’s all the other taxes they’ve been putting on us, and the prices we get for our produce and what it costs in the shop, we don’t make any money.
“Then there’s food security, farmers are going out of business.”
He said his message to Government was: “Sort the pledge out.”
“You said in the manifesto you would look after the farmers, which you totally haven’t, you’ve ruined the countryside,” he said.
Tyler Carter, 18, from Peterborough, was also among the campaigners gathered in Trafalgar Square.
He held a sign reading: “Dear London sorry … I’m here to fight for my future!” and told the PA news agency: “We’re fighting for our livelihood.”
When asked what the reforms would mean for him, he said: “It means my boss will be out of a job, which means I will be out of a job.
“We have worked hard for what we’ve got and don’t deserve to have it taken off us.”
Questioned on what he would say to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, he responded: “How dare you?”
Another farmer attended the event dressed as Father Christmas, with his tractor carrying a large spruce tree and bearing a sign that read: “Farmer Christmas – the naughty list: Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves, David Lammy, Diane Abbott, Angela Rayner & the BBC”.
In their Tuesday statement, the Met said the decision to ban agricultural machinery from Whitehall had been taken because of “serious disruption” the vehicles may cause to the local area, including businesses, emergency services and the public.
Any individual taking part in the farmers’ protest must remain in a specified area in Richmond Terrace, Whitehall, the force added.
Wednesday’s protest comes as Chancellor Rachel Reeves is facing pressure from farmers to axe plans to introduce inheritance tax on farming land and businesses.
The Chancellor’s plans to introduce a 20% rate on agricultural land and businesses worth more than £1 million have become a political flashpoint for a sector struggling with rising costs, tough market conditions and worsening climate impacts.
Last December, thousands of protesters gathered along Whitehall and angry farmers drove their tractors outside Parliament, demonstrating against the decision which farmers said put their businesses, futures and food security at risk.
