NFU plans London rally over future of family farms
© Tim Scrivener Farmers from across the UK are set to converge on London for a rally against the government’s agricultural policies which they say put the future of fragile family farms at risk and threaten food security and environmental goals.
The NFU is organising the rally which will take place on Tuesday 19 November at Church House conference centre at Westminster, central London, which will be able to accommodate about 600 farmers. But many more are expected to descend on the capital.
The NFU Council held an emergency meeting at 11am on Thursday 31 October where there was widespread agreement among council delegates to hold an event in London “to get farmers’ voices heard”.
See also: Budget delivers heavy cut to farming’s inheritance tax reliefs
NFU president Tom Bradshaw will address the event, which will also include speeches from other well-known farm leaders from across the devolved regions.
Defra secretary Steve Reed will be invited to speak at the rally to explain his Labour government’s farming polices, but whether he will accept the invitation is not clear. Other ministers and MPs will also be invited to attend.
Budget upset
The NFU, NFU Cymru, NFU Scotland, the Ulster Farmers’ Union and several other farming organisations, have expressed huge dissatisfaction with chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget announcement on 30 October due to several major policy shifts impacting agricultural funding, tax relief, and support for rural businesses.
Mr Bradshaw said the government’s decision to limit inheritance tax relief on agricultural property to the first £1m of assets “threatens family farms”.
The NFU will call for an immediate reversal of the government’s plans to reform Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief from April 2026.
Mr Bradshaw said: “It’s clear the government does not understand that family farms are not only small farms, and that just because a farm is an asset it doesn’t mean those who work it are wealthy.
“I have said, every penny the chancellor saves from this will come directly from the next generation having to break up their family farm. It simply mustn’t happen.
“MPs need to understand the consequences of these actions which is why we are mobilising our members for a mass lobby in the coming weeks. British farmers will ask their MPs to look them in the eye and tell them whether they support this.
“There’s still time for the government to accept they’ve got this wrong, and my message to ministers is that they should do the right thing and reverse this awful family farm tax.”
‘Real-terms’ budget cut
Farmers are also enraged by the government’s decision to freeze the agricultural budget for England to £2.6m in the 2025/26 financial year when the underspend from the previous government is factored in, which is effectively a real-terms cut.
The NFU says government plans to accelerate the end of the direct payment phase-out in England, which it says amounts to a significant cut to farm incomes, come at a time when replacement schemes still leave many farm businesses locked out.
The NFU intends to use this rally to highlight the risks posed to farming sustainability, food security, and rural economies by these policy shifts.
An industry source told Farmers Weekly: “The rally will be held within a building opposite Westminster and it will be a little bit like the SOS Dairy rally which was held there back in 2012.
“Tom Bradshaw will speak at the rally and hopefully we’ll get some ministers there.
“There will be a lot of people who will not fit in that building who will be there as well. The key thing is not to disrupt anyone’s daily activities, but to put on a good show.”
Recent lobbying events
This planned rally follows the NFU’s recent lobbying efforts during events such as Back British Farming Day on 11 September, which brought farming issues to the attention of MPs, gaining widespread support from both policymakers and the public.
On 6 March, this year NFU Cymru members placed 5,500 pairs of wellies on the steps of the Senedd in Cardiff Bay to protest against proposals included in the Welsh Labour government’s upcoming Sustainable Farming Scheme.