Convoy of farmers heads to London to join national protest

The local protestors were rallied by members of the Melton Borough Council Conservative Group, which says it is ‘deeply concerned’ about the impact of levying a 20 per cent tax on inherited farms valued at over £1million.

They predict it will effectively spell the end for many family farms which have passed down through multiple generations and leave farmers with large amounts of unaffordable debt.

The council’s Tory group say the new policy, which will be introduced from April 2026, will lead to many family farms having to sell valuable food production land to pay the tax, making them unviable and likely to be bought by large corporate companies for alternative use.

The Labour government say the new inheritance tax ruling will only impact around 500 farms and that the tax threshold for some family farms could rise to £3million.

It was announced in the recent budget with the aim of raising £200million for the NHS and other services.

But Councillor Simon Orson, who organised the coaches going down to the London protest this morning, said the new inheritance tax would erode a way of life in rural communities and destroy the agricultural traditions established across centuries in areas like the Melton borough.

Before heading to London with fellow protestors, he told the Melton Times: “This policy just exposes the government's complete lack of knowledge on how farming works.

"Our farmers are incensed by this savage attack on farming and the Conservative group of Melton Borough Council firmly stands behind all our farmers in the borough of Melton.”

The Conservative group at the borough council has called on its leader, Councillor Pip Allnatt, to write to the government to ask for a change in policy and a reversal of the new tax ruling

it points out the importance to the borough of its historic cattle market, which has traded for generations and bolstered the local economy.

The group is concerned that many young people will no longer be able to continue to carry on the traditions of farming in the borough.

The impact of this, they say, is that more food will need to be imported, often reared to lesser standards than those of the UK.

They also voice fears that mental health issues for farmers will only increase in further with the new tax burden they face.

The government points out that farmers and other landowners will pay inheritance tax at the reduced rate of 20 per cent under the new ruling – instead of the standard 40 per cent – and this tax can be paid in instalments over 10 years, interest free, rather than immediately, as with other types of inheritance tax.

The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) is running an online petition to protest the new inheritance tax ruling for farmers.

Click HERE to see it.