Angry farmers say Chancellor Rachel Reeves is refusing to meet them over “draconian” increases in inheritance tax.
They are warning the Labor government that “we will not give up.”
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Thousands of people protested in London this week against a tax increase that they say will devastate rural areas in Britain.
The two sides were unable to agree on the number of people affected by these changes, with farmers warning that it was much more than the Treasury Department estimates.
Reeves announced in the Budget that from April 2026, inherited farming assets worth more than £1 million will be subject to 20 per cent inheritance tax.
Tom Bradshaw, president of the National Farmers Union, told The Sun on Sunday: “All I want to do is sit down with the chancellor and discuss a way forward, but so far she has refused.
“Rest assured, the NFA will continue to push hard to stop the family farm tax; it is cruel, wrong and risks destroying our sector.”
“We will not give up,” said Victoria Vivian, president of the Land and Business Association. Farmers were hit with a huge inheritance tax Bills can put livelihoods at risk.
“This policy will harm the countryside and rural communities and threaten our food security,” said Tim Bonner, CEO of the Countryside Alliance.
Shadow Environment Secretary Victoria Atkins said Labor simply did not understand basic mathematics.
She criticized them for risking food shortages and rising food prices.
“The workers don’t understand or care about the countryside,” she said.
“Their policies risk the end of agriculture as we know it.”
The Treasury Department has been contacted for comment.
