Farmers from East Yorkshire held a tractor rally in Beverley as councillors voted on a motion to oppose Labour's Family Farm Tax.
More than 100 farmers and a total of 88 tractors gathered at Beverley Westwood with banners and signs opposing the Government’s controversial plan to levy a 20 per cent inheritance tax on agricultural assets worth more than £1million from April 2026.
The tractors then circled the town centre, passing County Hall, where Conservative councillors this afternoon called for East Riding of Yorkshire councillors to write to the government, urging for a reversal of the inheritance tax proposal.
Speaking to GB News at the tractor rally, East Yorkshire pig farmer Anna Longthorp said: "We're not backing down - it's amplifying the message to the government that they've got this wrong.
"It's putting a huge amount of pressure on the elder generations, not just my family, but those in poor health, they're having to make some really tough decisions, decisions they shouldn't be having to make.
"Up until now, it's always been the advice that you keep the asset until you die. Now these elderly generations are being put in an impossible situation whereby the most devastating impact is that they feel the best way forward for them would be for them not to be here next April.
"Any policy that has such a devastating consequence has got to be reviewed, it's totally unacceptable.
"There aren't words strong enough for it."
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Councillor Anne Handley, the Conservative Leader of East Riding Council was at the rally in support of local and British farmers ahead of the council motion.
She told GB News: "All our [East Yorkshire] MPs are on board on this one and we will get the motion through at full council meeting.
"East Riding is 93 per cent rural and we have a huge farming family here in the East Riding, and they need our support with what the Government are proposing.
"Farmers have been in their family farms for centuries. That's what they have, that is their livelihood. It's all they know, and if we start charging inheritance tax, they will have no option but to sell the farms.
"Where does the full production come from then? It will have to come from abroad and we'll have to fly it in because there'll be no farms.
"So, you know, sometimes what you think is a quick fix doesn't necessarily turn out as a quick fix, because the larger strategic vision, which they [Labour] should be looking at is where do we get our food production from?"
Charlie Dewhirst, Conservative MP for Bridlington and The Wolds also spoke to GB News at the tractor rally in Beverley.
He is deeply concerned by the potential inheritance tax implication for farmers, which he believes could force small family farms across East Yorkshire out of business when they are passed on to the next generation.
Speaking to GB News, he said: "It's [the inheritance tax] going destroy family farms as we know it and it destroys our rural economy that's been based for generation after generation around that ability for one generation to pass it on a farm on to another.
"What this fails to understand is that all land values might be high, incomes from farms are very low, and it will mean that those farmers are unable to afford a large inheritance tax bill and will be forced to sell their farms.
"East Yorkshire and the wider East Riding is built around a rural economy, and it's really, really important that we protect that and protect our local businesses, not just the farms, but all the businesses that work with those farms."
East Yorkshire Farmer and British Farming Union Chair, Steve Ridsdale, helped to organise the event.
Under the new proposals, Steve faces an inheritance tax bill of up to £600,000 and fears he could lose his livelihood under changes made to agricultural relief in the Budget.
At the tractor rally in Beverley, he told GB News: "We've got 88 tractors here, but they've just come from the locality. So clearly people are revved up about it and they want to want to show their feelings."
Conservative Councillor Sean McMaster, who represents South East Holderness, proposed the council motion on Wednesday, January 8, and said: "This inheritance tax raid on farmers will be detrimental to our rural economy and farming communities.
"I stand behind our local farmers one hundred per cent, and I am asking for colleagues from across the East Riding to do the same, many of whom, like me, represent rural farming communities."
In the motion, Cllr McMaster said: "We ask that this council shows its resolute support for our Farmers here in the East Riding of Yorkshire, their livelihoods and that of our rural communities with the following action: Writes not only to the Chancellor, but the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Prime Minister himself, encouraging them to think again and reverse the changes to inheritance tax and capital gains tax on Farmers, changes that will threaten to destabilise not only family-owned farms and businesses but our food security and rural economy."
The motion and rally come as Labour hopes a "new deal for farmers" can reset the relationship with industry.
At the Oxford Farming Conference on Thursday, January 9, Environment Secretary Steve Reed will focus on "making farm businesses more profitable and sustainable" by ensuring farmers are paid more fairly for their produce, making them less reliant on subsidies.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has also previously said the Budget had put £5billion into farming over the next two years, with the Government maintaining that it remains committed to supporting farmers and "the vital role they play to feed our nation".
Find Out More...
More than 100 farmers and a total of 88 tractors gathered at Beverley Westwood with banners and signs opposing the Government’s controversial plan to levy a 20 per cent inheritance tax on agricultural assets worth more than £1million from April 2026.
The tractors then circled the town centre, passing County Hall, where Conservative councillors this afternoon called for East Riding of Yorkshire councillors to write to the government, urging for a reversal of the inheritance tax proposal.
Speaking to GB News at the tractor rally, East Yorkshire pig farmer Anna Longthorp said: "We're not backing down - it's amplifying the message to the government that they've got this wrong.
"It's putting a huge amount of pressure on the elder generations, not just my family, but those in poor health, they're having to make some really tough decisions, decisions they shouldn't be having to make.
"Up until now, it's always been the advice that you keep the asset until you die. Now these elderly generations are being put in an impossible situation whereby the most devastating impact is that they feel the best way forward for them would be for them not to be here next April.
"Any policy that has such a devastating consequence has got to be reviewed, it's totally unacceptable.
"There aren't words strong enough for it."
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Councillor Anne Handley, the Conservative Leader of East Riding Council was at the rally in support of local and British farmers ahead of the council motion.
She told GB News: "All our [East Yorkshire] MPs are on board on this one and we will get the motion through at full council meeting.
"East Riding is 93 per cent rural and we have a huge farming family here in the East Riding, and they need our support with what the Government are proposing.
"Farmers have been in their family farms for centuries. That's what they have, that is their livelihood. It's all they know, and if we start charging inheritance tax, they will have no option but to sell the farms.
"Where does the full production come from then? It will have to come from abroad and we'll have to fly it in because there'll be no farms.
"So, you know, sometimes what you think is a quick fix doesn't necessarily turn out as a quick fix, because the larger strategic vision, which they [Labour] should be looking at is where do we get our food production from?"
Charlie Dewhirst, Conservative MP for Bridlington and The Wolds also spoke to GB News at the tractor rally in Beverley.
He is deeply concerned by the potential inheritance tax implication for farmers, which he believes could force small family farms across East Yorkshire out of business when they are passed on to the next generation.
Speaking to GB News, he said: "It's [the inheritance tax] going destroy family farms as we know it and it destroys our rural economy that's been based for generation after generation around that ability for one generation to pass it on a farm on to another.
"What this fails to understand is that all land values might be high, incomes from farms are very low, and it will mean that those farmers are unable to afford a large inheritance tax bill and will be forced to sell their farms.
"East Yorkshire and the wider East Riding is built around a rural economy, and it's really, really important that we protect that and protect our local businesses, not just the farms, but all the businesses that work with those farms."
East Yorkshire Farmer and British Farming Union Chair, Steve Ridsdale, helped to organise the event.
Under the new proposals, Steve faces an inheritance tax bill of up to £600,000 and fears he could lose his livelihood under changes made to agricultural relief in the Budget.
At the tractor rally in Beverley, he told GB News: "We've got 88 tractors here, but they've just come from the locality. So clearly people are revved up about it and they want to want to show their feelings."
Conservative Councillor Sean McMaster, who represents South East Holderness, proposed the council motion on Wednesday, January 8, and said: "This inheritance tax raid on farmers will be detrimental to our rural economy and farming communities.
"I stand behind our local farmers one hundred per cent, and I am asking for colleagues from across the East Riding to do the same, many of whom, like me, represent rural farming communities."
In the motion, Cllr McMaster said: "We ask that this council shows its resolute support for our Farmers here in the East Riding of Yorkshire, their livelihoods and that of our rural communities with the following action: Writes not only to the Chancellor, but the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Prime Minister himself, encouraging them to think again and reverse the changes to inheritance tax and capital gains tax on Farmers, changes that will threaten to destabilise not only family-owned farms and businesses but our food security and rural economy."
The motion and rally come as Labour hopes a "new deal for farmers" can reset the relationship with industry.
At the Oxford Farming Conference on Thursday, January 9, Environment Secretary Steve Reed will focus on "making farm businesses more profitable and sustainable" by ensuring farmers are paid more fairly for their produce, making them less reliant on subsidies.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has also previously said the Budget had put £5billion into farming over the next two years, with the Government maintaining that it remains committed to supporting farmers and "the vital role they play to feed our nation".
Find Out More...