Beverley and Holderness MP joins East Yorkshire farmers in protest at Westminster

East Yorkshire farmers hit by a “triple whammy” of new Government measures were among more than 20,000 who protested at Westminster.

They were joined in the action on Tuesday by Beverley and Holderness MP Graham Stuart, who described the new measures as an “attack on rural Britain”. Mr Stuart said he was there to lend his support and to hear what farmers from the East Riding had to say.

Mr Stuart said: “I don’t know who dreamt up this scheme to tax the family farm out of existence, but whoever they are doesn’t have any experience of rural life. It takes a special incompetence and cruelty to hammer those who feed us and make it impossible for family farms to continue.

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“These aren’t plutocrats, they’re hard working people who are out every day, in the freezing cold, to put food on our plates and supermarket shelves for very little money. Labour is pulling the rug from under farmers’ feet and if Labour doesn’t reverse this, it’s everyone in the country who will pay the price.”

Farmers were hit with a “triple whammy in the recent Budget of Broken Promises”, he said, referring to a new Family Farm Tax; pulling the rug from under farmers’ feet in the form of ending the Basic Payment System early, and taxing farm vehicles as company cars.

The MP has been highly vocal in his disappointment at the measures and has raised it in Parliament, spoken with farmers over the past few weeks, organised a petition against the measures - which has seen over 760 signatures in its first week - and now met with farmers in Parliament. Mr Stuart worked with the NFU to invite around 20 farmers to tell him and Bridlington and the Wolds MP Charlie Dewhirst about their experiences, and what the next steps should be.

He said it was clear that farmers could be devastated by the measures, with everyone in the room farming land which will eventually be subject to inheritance tax, making for “a grim future for family farms in East Yorkshire”. Despite the Chancellor claiming that 73 per cent of farms would be unaffected, this was not the reality of farming in the UK, he said.

Excluding farms under five acres, the average size of a farm in the UK is 250 acres, according to the NFU. “With land prices at around £10,000-£15,000 an acre, the issue is clearly much bigger than the Treasury estimates."

Environment secretary Steve Reed rejected claims that the Government has underestimated how many will be affected by plans to limit 100 per cent property relief to the first £1 million of agricultural assets. Under the plans, full inheritance tax relief will be restricted to the first £1 million of combined agricultural and business property relief, above which landowners will pay a rate of 20 per cent, compared with 40 per cent on other estates.

The measure comes into effect in April 2026 and can be paid in instalments over ten years interest free, the Government has said.

“The Government’s been very clear: about 500 farms will be affected and the vast majority of farms will pay nothing more under the new scheme,” Mr Reed told PA.

“That figure has been validated now by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility and by the independent financial think tank the IFS. There are all sorts of other figures flying around that I don’t recognise."

He dismissed opposition accusations that Labour does not understand the countryside, citing the announcement of £5 billion in the Budget to support sustainable food production in the UK.

“That’s the biggest budget of that kind in our country’s history and it shows that we’re backing farmers,” Mr Reed said.