East Yorkshire farmers protest in London ahead of Budget speech

A farmer protesting in London against the introduction of a farm inheritance tax has warned “there will be no farmers if the decision is not overturned”.

Anna Longthorp, from Howden, in East Yorkshire, has joined others who drove tractors to the capital ahead of the Budget speech earlier, despite a ban on vehicles in the Whitehall area by the Metropolitan Police.

She said that “farmers categorically cannot pay this tax”, which would see inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1m taxed at a rate of 20% from April 2027.

A government spokesperson previously told the BBC it was “backing British farms” with annual investment and reliefs.

Ms Longthorp said that farmers had been protesting for more than a year about the proposed tax.

“It’s sheer determination because if we don’t overturn it, if it’s not tweaked, then there aren’t going to be any farmers,” she said.

“So we’ve got to fight until the end. It’s having a huge burden on mental health, on our elderly and our vulnerable.”

The Metropolitan Police said the decision to restrict vehicles “was taken due to the serious disruption they may cause to the local area, including businesses, emergency services and Londoners going about their day”.

Despite the ban, tractors have gathered near Trafalgar Square.

Ms Longthorp said that police were “going to struggle to arrest all of us in the big machines that we’re in”.

A government spokesperson previously told the BBC: “We are backing farmers with the largest nature‑friendly budget in history with over £2.7bn a year to grow their businesses, put more British food on our plates, and restore nature.

“Our reforms to agricultural and business property relief will safeguard public services while keeping inheritance tax fair – with three quarters of estates paying nothing, and the rest paying half the usual rate, spread over 10 years interest‑free.”