Video: Tractor protesters target Swindon MPs’ offices

Fed-up farmers staged a tractor protest in Wiltshire against government policies that they fear will ruin their livelihoods.

Campaign group Save British Farming (SBF) held the rally, which started at Cirencester Livestock Market and toured Swindon town centre on Friday (9 December).

Stunned shoppers watched as the procession of nine tractors, adorned in banners declaring “Save British Food”, swept through the Orbital Shopping Park in Swindon, before heading to Wood Street at about 12.30pm.

See also: Lib Dems table proposal to protect UK farmers in trade deals

The public showed the farmers their support by waving, cheering and taking photos and videos on their mobile phones. The campaigners also received support from motorists who beeped their horns.

The tractor drivers honked their own horns as they targeted the offices of Swindon Conservative MPs Justin Tomlinson and Robert Buckland, to demonstrate their anger with the agricultural laws they are passing.

MPs ‘on notice’

Liz Webster, SBF founder and farmer’s wife, said: “We brought it to them, but it’s really to all the MPs here in the South West.

“We are putting these MPs in safe seats on notice because we can elevate our message to the electorate, who support and love us.

“County towns and cities are connected to us. Removing our subsidies will have an impact on Cirencester, Marlborough, Malmesbury, they’re all agricultural market towns. Farmers will have less money to spend.”

Mrs Webster said British farmers were struggling to cope with unprecedented challenges since Brexit.

The labour shortage was having a huge impact on the pig, poultry and horticulture sectors. The exodus of EU workers has seen pigs being killed on the farm and food ploughed back into fields.

Mrs Webster said the phased withdrawal of subsidy was hurting farmers. She added: “I’m concerned that the Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme will end up like Boris Johnson’s plan for a garden bridge across the Thames and never materialise into anything substantial or helpful to most farmers.”

She claimed that the government was not interested in helping small family farms to survive. “They want us to either diversify our farms, so that you’re not a farm any more, or sell up. Why else would you offer your farmers an incentive to retire?”

Jumping through hoops

Paul Joseph, an agricultural contractor based in Wanborough, Wiltshire, took part in the protest. He fears his business may not survive the changes.

“We continually jump through so many hoops, fighting with obstacles that make our products wildly more expensive to produce, against cheap imports that do not follow these same rules,” he said.

“We have been the guardians of the countryside, producing top-quality food with high animal welfare and looking after the environment. When we are gone, we will be missed. Planting trees in our place won’t be environmentally friendly and neither will they feed the nation.” 

Mrs Webster said farmers felt betrayed by Conservative manifesto pledges to uphold their high animal welfare and environmental standards when the government is negotiating cheap food trade deals with other countries.

“We have seen how excited the New Zealand and Australian farmers are. They are ready to ramp up their exports here. You put in Brazil and America and we’re not going to be able to survive that.”

The Lib Dems have tabled a member’s bill that would mandate the Trade and Agriculture Commission to undertake an impact assessment of any new trade deal on the UK farming industry, and ensure the government considers the environmental and animal welfare implications when negotiating trade deals.

London demo

SBF is planning a tractor demonstration in Westminster to coincide with the second reading of the member’s bill in parliament on 14 January 2022.

Justin Tomlinson MP told the Swindon Advertiser: “The government has been absolutely clear that it will not compromise on our high standards on environmental protections, animal welfare and food standards in any free trade negotiation.

“The Agriculture Act recognises the high-quality standards of food production we have here in the UK and this is in demand across the world.

“Furthermore, Brexit has presented us with more opportunities to improve animal welfare standards – including banning live exports – which allows us to become a world leader – something we are all rightly proud of.”