Yorkshire farmers in tractor protest outside council offices

Frustrated farmers held a tractor rally in Beverley on Wednesday 8 January to highlight the importance of agriculture in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

In total, 88 tractors circled the town centre, passing County Hall, where councillors were voting on a motion opposing the government’s controversial plan introduce farm inheritance tax from April 2026.

The motion, proposed by Conservative councillors, called for strong support for local farmers and included a commitment for councillors to write to the chancellor, prime minister, and the Defra secretary, urging a reversal of the harmful proposal.

See also: Farmers stage tractor rally in York to demand fair treatment

Some farmers travelled from as far as the Humber Bridge, Scarborough in the north and Lincolnshire in the south to take part in the protest.

© Angus Gowthorpe

The tractor protest was organised by the same group of farmers who assembled 145 tractors for a similar event in York city centre on 11 December.

Steve Ridsdale, chairman of the British Farming Union and a Yorkshire farmer, took part in both tractor protests.

He said: “We want to see where the allegiance of the councillors lies – is it with the Labour government, or do they back their farmers in their own county?”

The motion was passed with 52 for and five against (all Labour councillors), with one abstention.