'Time for a ewe-turn': Tractor protest over tax

More than 100 farmers from across North Yorkshire have taken part in a protest against the government's planned inheritance tax reforms.

Crowds gathered to watch the demonstrators in their tractors travel from York Auction Centre in Murton past city landmarks such as York Minster and Clifford's Tower.

Farmers also headed to Westminster to show their opposition to government plans to levy a 20% inheritance tax on agricultural assets worth more than £1m from April 2026.

Pig farmer Anna Longthorp organised the tractor run for local supporters unable to travel to London and said it was important to highlight the impact of the tax on small family farms.

She told the BBC: "The support for this has been tremendous, it has made me quite emotional, seeing people waving and clapping at us as we go past.

"We're asset rich, cash poor as we have big assets in land. It is very valuable in the tractors that we drive, the kit that we need in order to do food for the nation, so we're quite alone in that we're price takers instead of price makers.

"We don't receive a price for any of the products, so some years we make a profit and some years we make a loss.

"So we just don't have the liquidity to pay this tax.

"We won't stop until there is a change, we are a resilient industry and we're standing shoulder to shoulder, we've got a huge support and don't want to do anything to jeopardise that, but we will keep going."

Angus Gowthorpe, who farms in Riccall, was also at the rally to "show support and to try and demonstrate how many people are against this tax".

He said: "Personally, we're facing paying £60,000 per year when my mother passes away - if she passes the farm down to me.

"So we'll be hit badly and so will many others."

Meanwhile, Steve Ridsdale, who farms near Pocklington, added that he thought the government had "got it wrong".

He said: "They're saying 73% of farmers won't be affected by it but as you can see by the turnout today, that is not the case.

"We need a much larger allowance if they don't want to affect family farms, so we want to keep the issue highlighted and hope the government listens to us.

The government has said they're investing heavily in farming but have had to make "difficult decisions".

During Prime Minister's Question on Wednesday, prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said the government has spent "last week alone, £350m to support farmers across the United Kingdom".

He told MPs: "I think everybody welcomes the £5bn over the next two years that we've put in the budget."

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