Hundreds of tractors block London with Keir Starmer dubbed ‘grave robber’ by furious farmers in inheritance tax protest
HUNDREDS of tractors blocked London today with Keir Starmer dubbed a "grave robber" by furious farmers over Labour's "devastating" inheritance tax hikes.
The demonstration - organised by Save British Farming and Kent Fairness for Farmers - saw campaigners park up outside Parliament.
It coincides with Sir Keir facing Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons.
Last month, around 13,000 protesters - including Jeremy Clarkson - rallied in the capital against the tractor tax outlined in Rachel Reeves' first Budget.
It will see farmers paying a 20 per cent levy on agricultural assets worth more than £1million.
Sector leaders say the change will have a devastating impact on already struggling family farms.
READ MORE ON THE TRACTOR TAX
'THIS IS WAR'
Around 300 farmers drove to central London - with photos showing some arriving in Millbank on a transporter.
They began gathering at 10am - with speeches made at midday.
At 12.45pm, the tractors began a slow drive before returning to Parliament.
Kent Fairness For Farmers organiser and beef farmer Matt Cullen said: "The time has now come for farmers to unite and stand up and fight back against the government tax decisions.
"We need to show this government that we will not be pushed over and have our farms destroyed!
"This is war and we will win and force the government into a U-turn."
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Diddly Squat farm owner Jeremy, 64, said during last month's demonstration: "I've never been on a protest before and we shouldn’t be having to do it."
Asked about the new "tractor tax" rules, he added: "I think DEFRA were pushed into it.
"I don't think there’s a much of an appetite in DEFRA for it because they have to deal with farmers, they know how cross they are.
"I think it was the treasury. I think it was comrade Reeves. The treasury have suggested it, she's lapped it up."
He went on to say: "When you've made a mistake like the government has done, you take a step back and say 'I've cocked up slightly there'.
"It would be nice to think they are big enough to say that."
ARLENE FOSTER: Farmers' betrayal proves NO ONE is safe from Labour's grasping hands
By farmer's daughter Dame Arlene Foster
LABOUR'S farm tax betrayal is a policy so out of touch it could only come from a party increasingly defined by the politics of envy.
These changes are not only a financial blow but an attack on a way of life that has sustained our country for generations.
As someone who has seen first-hand the relentless challenges farmers face, I cannot stay silent.
Farming is, without question, one of the hardest professions. Imagine working 80-hour weeks, often in isolation, braving rain, frost, or blistering heat to put food on the tables of millions.
All this while navigating mountains of bureaucracy from government agencies on one side and fending off the relentless demands for lower prices from supermarket giants on the other.
For most, the rewards are meagre, and yet they persist—not for wealth but for pride in their work and the hope of leaving something behind for their children.
This inheritance tax proposal strikes at the very heart of that hope
Labour's policy is a stark reminder of what happens when ideology trumps understanding.
This is a government driven not by fairness but by a desire to punish those who work hard and build something for their families.
First, they came for the pensioners, stripping them of their winter fuel allowances.
Now, they are coming for the farmers, threatening the very existence of family-run farms.
Who will be next? Small business owners? Homeowners?
It seems that no one who seeks to create and pass on a legacy is safe from Labour’s grasping hand.