Protesting farmers descend on Derbyshire’s County Hall in opposition to Government tax plans

Tractors lined the driveway into County Hall’s car park, off Bank Road, in Matlock, before a full council meeting and before they were redirected nearby to meet sympathetic Conservative Council Leader, Cllr Barry Lewis, to share their feelings over the Labour Government’s plans.

Beef and eggs farmer Juliette Stevens, who is based near Ashbourne and Kirk Langley, said: “I am fed-up with this country and the way it is going. I used to be a councillor and I am going to stand again for Reform UK because I am infuriated about what they are doing to my country.

“I am passionate about the farming industry and it’s heartbreaking what they are doing to our family farms and if we do not stand up now the land will be converted into wind farms and solar farms.”

Ms Stevens feels that such policies may not be reversible and she stressed that ‘once farms are lost, they are lost forever’ and that such changes being imposed by the Government including changes to inheritance tax and increases to employers’ NI contributions will affect all types of family businesses too.

Conservative Deputy Leader, Cllr Simon Spencer, who is also the Cabinet member for Corporate Services and Budget at the Conservative-led council, has stated he believes the Government has failed to address or support farmers after committing to the biggest overall budget tax increase in many years.

He has raised concerns the Labour Government’s decisions to increase Capital Gains Tax and especially inheritance tax will be deeply felt by the farming community.

Cllr Spencer has stated that the imposition of the new inheritance tax policy upon farmers could ‘destroy the viability’ of small farms with farms having to be broken up to pay a tax farmers have never had to pay before making farms unviable and he believes this will eventually pose a threat to food security.

He added farmers do not have a lot of money and in most cases their business is a family one handed down but if they get hit by inheritance tax their land may have to be sold and that will also threaten food security for the country.

The new policy is expected to be introduced from April, 2026, with a starting point upon inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1m which were previously exempt but will now become liable to a 20per cent inheritance tax.

But if a farm’s assets amount to up to £1.325m, no inheritance tax will be paid and if a farmer is married their spouse can also pass on another £1.325m tax-free, totalling £2.65m.

Also, there is a £175,000 tax-free allowance on a main residence if it is passed to children or grandchildren which means a farming couple could have an untaxed amount of up to £3m.

But farmers have argued they are already facing increasing costs and although some may be regarded as asset-rich with land and livestock many argue they are cash-poor and changes to inheritance tax will mean they will have to sell-up.

National Farmers’ Union President Tom Bradshaw has previously described the tax changes as destructive after thousands of farmers, including NFU members, descended upon London in protest in November, last year.

Farmer Ian Lomas, of Brassington, who attended the demonstration at County Hall, said: “We have got to push back against the policies that this Government is forcing upon us without proper consultancy and the correct impact assessments. It is not just farms, it is all small family businesses that will be affected by this.”

Immediately after the protest, County Council Leader, Cllr Lewis, told the council meeting he had spoken directly with the farmers who had gathered with concerns about the Labour Government’s national policy including inheritance tax changes that he believes threatens family farms.

Cllr Lewis described the demonstration as ‘quite extraordinary’ and he questioned whether the Labour Government is on the side of working people considering what he described as ‘widespread resentment’ among farmers.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has claimed the vast majority of farmers will not be affected and the Government also claims the inheritance tax change will only affect the wealthiest 500 estates each year but the NFU and the Country Land and Business Association have estimated that 70,000 farms worth over £1m could be affected.

Sir Keir Starmer has also said there will be investments in other areas affecting farmers including hospitals, schools and housing.

He also claimed that £5bn has been pledged over two years for farming and food sustainability and despite previous protests the Prime Minister has stated the Government will not reconsider the new inheritance tax policy.

Dairy Farmer Sue Flower, of New Haven, told how Derbyshire farmers are also concerned about the Government’s Local Government Reorganisation plans which she and others fear could result in the High Peak going to Greater Manchester.

She said: “We just feel there is an anti-farming policy at work and there are lots of conspiracies but there is a risk of the region being carved up so we need to keep it in Derbyshire.”

The Farmers to Action group has organised a series of recent protests calling for the abolition of the Government’s inheritance tax plans and a number of other Government policies.

Derbyshire County Council’s opposition Labour Group has been asked for a statement but at the time of publication they had not yet responded.