(5MinNewsBreak.com) – Hundreds of tractors swarmed London in a dramatic show of force, blocking streets and creating chaos as British farmers took a stand against a threat to their livelihoods.
The target of their anger is a new inheritance tax policy set to take effect in 2026 that could devastate family farms across the country.
The proposed tax changes would impose a crushing 20% inheritance tax on farms worth more than £1 million starting April 2026.
This measure threatens to force the sale or closure of countless family-owned farms, potentially destroying Britain’s agricultural heritage and food security.
National Farmers’ Union (NFU) president Tom Bradshaw warned of dire consequences if the tax goes into effect.
He highlighted the severe mental health impact on farmers, including a potential increase in suicides.
“It’s not money. This is a lifetime of work, its the heritage and the custodianship of their farm,” Bradshaw stated.
“Farmers’ leaders have urged the prime minister to put changes to agricultural inheritance tax on hold while ministers consult with them,” he continued.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has defended the policy, claiming most farms would be unaffected due to a £3 million threshold.
However, farmers and agricultural experts paint a different picture. They argue that far more farms will be impacted than government estimates suggest, potentially leading to widespread land sales and a significant reduction in food production.
Norfolk MP Jerome Mayhew stated:
“‘Losing a farm is not like losing any other business. It can’t come back.’ Now, those are the words of the Prime Minister, that is what he said to the NFU in order to get their votes, so can the Prime Minister understand why farmers in Broadland and Fakenham and around the country now think that his administration is duplicitous?”
Existing pressures from competitive supermarkets, cheap imports and post-Brexit subsidy cuts worsen the farmers’ ordeal.
This new tax burden could be the final straw for many struggling agricultural families. As farmer Gareth Wyn Jones put it bluntly, “It’s the final nail in our agricultural coffin.”
As the protest continues, British farmers are planning more demonstrations in areas with Labour ministers, determined to force the government to reconsider this destructive policy.
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