Farmers are protesting against inheritance tax in large numbers, and here's the reason for their frustration.

On a Saturday, a group of farmers gathered outside a conference venue in Wales where a Labour event was taking place. This was just the beginning of what was to come, as tomorrow, parts of central London were going to be at a standstill due to the largest protest the Labour government had faced so far.

The demonstration, which was expected to draw between 10,000 and 40,000 farmers, was going to be led by none other than Jeremy Clarkson himself. The route from Whitehall to Parliament Square would be filled with children riding toy tractors, as it was advised for participants not to bring real machinery.

The farmers' anger stemmed from the Autumn Budget announcements made three weeks prior, which included changes to inheritance tax. The government also declared that they would be phasing out farming subsidies introduced under the EU, and instead using taxpayer funds to support more nature-friendly farming projects.

Currently, farming assets are exempt from inheritance tax, but starting in 2026, those over a threshold of £1 million would be taxed at a rate of 20%. This was still more generous compared to other types of property, where the threshold was only £325,000 and the tax rate was 40%.

The protest in London was expected to draw a much larger crowd compared to the one that took place in Llandudno over the weekend. The government defended their changes, stating that they were only expected to affect the wealthiest 500 estates each year, with smaller farms not being affected.

However, the farmers argued against this, pointing to data from the Environment Department which showed that 66% of farm businesses were worth over £1 million. Rally organizer Olly Harrison criticized the government, stating that they had not done enough research before implementing these changes.

The current government, led by Keir Starmer, had announced £40 billion in tax increases. This move was met with opposition from the farmers, who believed that it would harm UK food production and weaken family businesses. National Farmers' Union president Tom Bradshaw expressed his disappointment and lack of trust in the government, and urged them to reconsider their decision.

Jeremy Clarkson, who owned Diddly Squat farm, was also expected to attend the protest. On the other hand, there were those who supported the tax changes, like campaigner Guy Shrubshole, who pointed out that 35% of land in the UK was owned by corporations or wealthy investors. He also cited data from Defra, which showed that a quarter of England's land was owned by just 2,500 large farms.

Shrubshole believed that small farmers deserved support, and that giving tax breaks to wealthy investors only caused harm by inflating the price of land and depriving public services of much-needed funds.

These changes to inheritance tax were just a small fraction of the overall £40 billion in tax increases announced by the government. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, these changes only accounted for 6% of the total amount.

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