NFU condemns tractor protest and prime minister’s comments

The NFU has condemned a recent tractor protest in Buckinghamshire which caused prime minister Keir Starmer to cut short a visit to a construction site in Newport Pagnell, calling it “misguided” and “counterproductive”. 

NFU president Tom Bradshaw criticised the noisy protestors who disrupted Sir Keir’s speech on Thursday (13 February), having breached the security perimeter and let off their tractor horns near the prime minister’s team.

See also: PM abandons housing visit after tractor protest

Mr Bradshaw said: “However high feelings are running in the farming community, today’s actions by a group that deliberately disrupted a major speech by the prime minister were misjudged and, clearly, have been massively counterproductive.”

He also clarified that the protest, organised by Farmers To Action, was not an NFU event and emphasised that the NFU has been actively campaigning since October to address the detrimental impacts of proposed inheritance tax (IHT) changes on farms.

Starmer’s comments

Following the tractor protest, Sir Keir appeared on Sky News, drawing attention to what he described as “political choices” tied to IHT policy.

He said: “There is a choice. Do they prefer their waiting lists to come down, do they want their mortgages to come down, and the economy to start working again for everyone… or do we want to keep a tax break for farmers? You cannot have both.”

He continued, saying that the public would understand the choice and know “which they will prefer”.

Mr Bradshaw released a statement following these televised comments and said: “While we understand, and share, the prime minister’s frustrations today, he is not right to say that agricultural property relief and business property relief are a tax break for farmers.”

Criticism

However, some farmers took to social media to criticise Mr Bradshaw’s comments on the prime minister’s TV appearance and the earlier protest.

One described the statement as “a very poor judged statement”, while another accused the union of double standards, saying: “You supported London though, double standards”.

Frustration with the NFU’s response also emerged, with one farmer writing: “Farmers wouldn’t be forced to do this if you’d actually get off the fence, but no, limp, lame, same old NFU, utter disgrace.”