Farmers are preparing to stage a nationwide “Day of Unity” on Monday 24 November, in protest against the government’s proposed inheritance tax reforms.

Organisers say the changes threaten to devastate family-run farms, many of which have been passed down through generations and rely heavily on existing tax reliefs to remain viable.

And the concerns go beyond individual families, with farming groups warning that the changes could have serious knock-on effects on the wider rural economy and pose a long-term risk to Britain’s food security.

See also: Farmer protest greets Starmer and Labour in Liverpool

The co-ordinated day of action will see tractor go-slow protests between 10am and 4pm across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Organisers say the demonstrations are designed to avoid peak travel hours to minimise disruption to the public, while making a strong statement ahead of Labour’s Autumn Budget on Wednesday 26 November.

The initiative is spearheaded by a coalition of grassroots farming groups including All Farmers, Farmers For Fairness, Farmers To Action, Midland Farmers, East Anglian Farmers Unite, Welsh lobby group Digon Yw Digon (Enough is Enough), Kent Farmers, West Country Farmers, Berkshire Farming and Scottish Farmers.

Last month, the “Trailer of Truth” campaign toured rural communities nationwide, spotlighting the farming industry’s growing concerns. The tour culminated in a high-profile protest outside the Labour party conference in Liverpool on 28 September.

“We want the protests to be peaceful and to resemble tractor charity runs,” said a spokesman. “We want to raise awareness of the devastating impact the family farm tax will have on farm businesses and the wider rural economy.”

As part of the build-up to the Day of Unity, organisers are calling on local demonstration leads to submit details of location, meeting time, and key nearby sites. 

A video shared on Facebook (below) features farmers voicing their concerns.

Minister reaffirms policy

Treasury minister James Murray doubled down on the government’s plans to impose a 20% levy on inherited agricultural assets worth £1m or more from next April when he appeared on GB News yesterday (15 October).

Asked to comment on media speculation that the government planned to increase the IHT threshold to £5m, Mr Murray said: “That policy was settled. We announced that at the Budget last year.

“We think the approach that we took was a fair and proportionate approach where it still allowed owners of assets to have £1m without being subject to inheritance tax and at a 50% relief above that level.

“That was a fair way forward. We’re focused on the next budget and not reopening discussions of the past one.”

A spokesman for the Day of unity protest expressed great disappointment at the minister’s comments. “Farmers have not gone away, this is just the start,” he added.