Tractors stage go-slow protest over tax move

Farmers have been staging a go-slow rally in tractors along a major road to protest against changes to inheritance tax.

The rally began on the A14 at Seven Hills, near Ipswich, at 10:00 GMT and made its way north-west to Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, before turning back at about 12:30 and heading towards the Port of Felixstowe.

Sam Steward, one of the farmers taking part, said more than 100 tractors were expected to participate.

Traffic cameras show delays along the route. Suffolk Police said it put mitigation in place to tackle any disruption.

Speaking before the rally, Mr Steward, from Dennington, near Framlingham, said proposed changes inheritance tax were the "final nail in the coffin" for family farms.

"We're keeping one lane completely open the whole time and we're going along at 20mph so we're not going stupidly slow," he said.

"It's more to show our face as an industry. The more we get it out in the public, the better it is for our cause.

"We're trying to keep it peaceful and have a tractor rally."

A similar protest happened along the A14 in December, and there have been others elsewhere in the country.

They come in response to changes announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves during her Budget speech in November, which detailed that inheritance tax would apply to agricultural assets worth more than £1m from April 2026.

Mr Steward said farmers faced other issues and that the industry had been "hammered" by rules and regulations.

"It's about years and years of more things that make us less competitive," he added.

"With the imports coming, in we're not on a level playing field with the rest of Europe."

A government spokesperson previously said: "Our reform to Agricultural and Business Property relief will mean estates will pay a reduced effective inheritance tax rate of 20%, rather than the standard 40%, and payments can be spread over 10 years, interest-free.

"This is a fair and balanced approach, which fixes the public services we all rely on, affecting around 500 estates a year."

A spokesperson for Suffolk Police said: "We have been working with our partners to monitor disruption and put in place mitigation to minimise this when required."

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