LONDON: Hundreds of tractors blocked streets in central London on Wednesday, the latest protest by farmers against the government after it ended an exemption from inheritance tax for agricultural families.

The measure, dubbed the “tractor tax” by critics, was introduced by the government to boost funds to pay for strained public services, but farmers say it will destroy family farms and reduce food production.

Farmers lined their tractors up close to the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday, hoping to convince the government to change course, or face escalating protests.“It’s the final nail in our agricultural coffin,” farmer Gareth Wyn Jones told Sky News, standing in front of rows of stationary tractors as protesters held up signs saying “No Farmers, No Food, No Future”.

Farmers say their income has been squeezed over the years by Britain’s competitive supermarket sector, cheap imports from abroad and subsidy cuts following Brexit.

The passing down of farms through generations was previously tax-free but in October the government said farmers would be subject to a tax from 2026. Protests in different parts of the country swiftly followed.

The biggest was in mid-November when 13,000 people gathered in Westminster, including Britain’s most high profile farmer Jeremy Clarkson, the former Top Gear presenter whose programme Clarkson’s Farm is one of Amazon’s top UK shows.

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2024