Tractor convoy hit Leamington as local farmers protest against ‘family farm tax’

Farmers from across Warwickshire flocked to Leamington Spa on 25 January to protest against the government’s proposed ‘family farm tax’ in a 50-strong tractor convoy.

The farmers drove from Warwick to Leamington Spa, making their pilgrimage down the Parade and past the town hall, before handing out flyers and talking to members of the public.

The tractor convoy was part of a ‘National Day of Unity’ amongst farmers, with farmers across the country protesting against government plans to remove the inheritance tax exemption that farms currently have.

Working farms are currently exempt from paying inheritance tax. However, under new government plans revealed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in last October’s Budget, farmers will be required to pay a 20% rate on any property valued over £1 million from April 2026 – lower than the standard 40% rate. The tax will be paid over a 10-year period, at a zero interest rate.

Mark Johnson, a livestock farmer, was one of the farmers who took part in the protest in Leamington on 25 January. He told BBC News that he was opposed to the tax as farmers were already “trying to produce food for next to nothing”.

On Friday 24 January, the day before the protest, a petition which had garnered more than 270,000 signatures contesting the new taxation laws was presented to the government at 10 Downing Street by members of the farming community.

A spokesperson for the government argued the policy is a “fair and balanced approach” which could help raise revenue for the government to solve issues and plug funding gaps

The petition urged the government to ditch the ‘devastating’ farm tax which could see 75% of working farms hit with tax bills in the region of hundreds of thousands of pounds, according to the National Farmers Union (NFU).

A spokesperson for the government argued the policy is a “fair and balanced approach” which could help raise revenue for the government to solve issues and plug funding gaps in other services.

They added that, despite the tax, the latest budget had also committed to investing £5 billion into farming over the next two years, therefore arguing that farmers would not be adversely affected by the tax change.

The government has also suggested that “the concerns of rural Britain were the same as urban Britain”, and that issues with “the cost of living, the NHS and wanting to get the economy fixed” could be remedied with the extra tax revenue.

The NFU argued that farmers were already at “breaking point” and could not afford the tax, which it described as “destructive”

However, the NFU argued that farmers were already at “breaking point” and could not afford the tax, which it described as “destructive” to family farms.

Opposition against national leadership has also grown amongst the food industry, with all major supermarkets in the UK delivering statements which have backed the NFU’s call for the tax changes to be halted.

Over 60 companies, including dairy producers Arla and Müller, have also signed an open letter by the NFU voicing concerns over the tax changes, a move which has been described by the NFU as the food sector “joining forces like never before”.