Farmers march on Parliament in Pancake Day protest against inheritance tax
The demonstrators, accompanied by a few tractors and harvesters, met at around midday to march from Whitehall towards Parliament.
Farmers returned to central London on Tuesday to protest over inheritance tax changes with a Pancake Day rally.
The protesters, accompanied by a few tractors and harvesters, met at around midday to march from Whitehall towards Parliament.
They had been warned by the Metropolitan Police not to take farm machinery above a limited pre-agreed number under the Public Order Act, after last month’s demonstration caused traffic delays.
But politicians questioned the restrictions, suggesting farmers may have been treated differently from other recent protests.
Shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins told the PA news agency: “When we think of other demonstrations across London that happen on a weekly basis, I wonder whether quite the same restrictions are put in place for them.”
And Reform UK leader Nigel Farage told PA: “It looks on the face of it to be overly heavy-handed with what is an incredibly peaceful and law-abiding group of people.”
According to police at the scene, the seven machines present at the start of the protest in Whitehall were those pre-agreed under the conditions of the Public Order Act.
Scotland Yard warned that anyone breaching the conditions imposed or inciting others to do so would be committing a criminal offence and could face arrest.
Organisers had promised beforehand that the rally would be “bigger and better” than the previous two demonstrations.
Asked about the public order conditions, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch told PA: “I think we have a peaceful protest here.
“The farmers are more interested in ensuring that people understand what they are going through.”
Labour is pressing ahead with a 20% inheritance tax rate on agricultural land and businesses worth more than £1 million, which is set to come into force from April 2026.
The measure was introduced in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ first Budget, prompting a backlash from farmers who have argued it will force land sales, stall investment, and hurt families hoping to pass their farms on to the next generation.
Mr Farage urged farmers to pressure Labour MPs in rural constituencies whose majorities are “cigarette paper-thin”.
Speaking at the protest, he said: “That is where the pressure is going to come.
“They are 1,500 here and 2,000 there. I think if they (Labour) start to realise that local communities are getting behind the farmers you will see a lot more Labour MPs rebelling.”
As Mr Farage spoke, protesters passing by on the march shouted: “Thank you for coming, Nigel.”
Mr Farage cited Cornwall as an example of an area with Labour-held seats with a “really quite big rural dynamic”.
“I think the really important thing for farmers is, yes, by all means come to London, but you need to be in Truro, regularly,” he said.
The Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives have urged Labour to scrap the changes, which Ms Badenoch last week labelled “immoral”.
The Government defended the move as a “fair and balanced approach” but opposition from within the Labour Party is growing, after a third MP publicly came out against the tax raid on Monday.
