Why are farmers like Jeremy Clarkson protesting about inheritance tax?

Jeremy Clarkson is expected to attend large demonstrations by farmers in London on Tuesday in protest against government changes to inheritance tax.

The former Top Gear presenter, who now fronts the reality TV series Clarkson's Farm, is recovering from a back injury in the latest of his health battles, but the 64-year-old told The Telegraph he hoped to "get there somehow".

Between 10,000 and 40,000 farmers are expected to descend on Whitehall, angry at what they call the "absolutely unacceptable" changes to inheritance tax. Separately, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) is holding a mass lobby of MPs by 1,800 of its members. It follows a similar protest outside the Welsh Labour Conference in Llandudno at the weekend.

Under the plans announced by chancellor Rachel Reeves in last month's budget, from April 2026, inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1m will have to pay inheritance tax at 20% on anything above that figure, having been previously exempt.

In 2021, Clarkson told The Times newspaper that avoiding inheritance tax was "critical" in his decision to buy land.

A procession on Tuesday to Parliament Square will be headed by children on toy tractors, as organisers have told those attending not to bring their farm machinery.

Here, Yahoo News UK outlines what we know about the upcoming protest…

What are the ‘inheritance tax’ protests about?

The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has organised what it calls a “mass lobby” event for its members to petition MPs to overturn changes in the budget to agricultural property relief and business property relief.

Inheritance tax relief allows farmers to pass on their land and property tax-free to their families, either within their lifetimes or in their will.

But at the budget, the chancellor announced the 100% relief for family farms would be limited to only the first £1m of combined agricultural and business property.

For anything above that, landowners will pay a 20% tax rate, rather than the standard 40% rate of inheritance tax (IHT) applied to other land and property.

This has been dubbed a “tractor tax” and the upcoming protests on the streets of Westminster – the heart of politics – are a reflection of the anger felt within the farming community.

Why are farmers so angry?

Many farmers and farming unions argue that while Reeves's policy is aimed at wealthy landowners, it also risks harming family-owned farms, with some potentially forced to sell their farms to pay IHT bills.

NFU president Tom Bradshaw said that “just because a farm is a valuable asset it doesn’t mean those who work it are wealthy”. He also warned that the higher costs for farmers will trickle down to consumers, forcing food prices to go up.

Analysis by the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) suggests a “typical” arable farm of 200 acres, making a profit of £27,300, would face an IHT liability of £435,000.

The farm would have to allocate 159% of its profit each year to cover the tax bill, if spread over 10 years, and may lead those inheriting the land to sell as much as 20% of their farmland, the CLA said.

Gavin Lane, the CLA’s deputy president, said the government either “isn’t being honest with the public about the true impact of these reforms, or they don’t understand the nature of rural businesses”.

However, the government contests these claims, with ministers insisting that only around a quarter of farmers – the largest landowners – will be affected.

How many are expected to attend the protests?

The proposed event will see 1,800 NFU members, in three rotations of 600, lobby parliamentarians at Church House Westminster.

The NFU said there were “legal issues” preventing members turning up in large numbers on the streets of Westminster.

However, it is estimated that anything between 10,000 and 40,000 farmers could turn out to protest on the streets of London on Tuesday.

Clive Bailye, founder of The Farming Forum, has organised a splinter rally after the NFU said it could not “take responsibility for people in the streets”.

Bailye, an arable farmer from Staffordshire, said he was “totally in support” of the NFU’s event but added it was “very limited”.

He told the PA news agency: “They weren’t organising a rally. They weren’t organising a march-type event. It was becoming very obvious that farmers were desperate for somebody to take the lead and organise something else.”

He added: “We’re not wanting to take that European, French farmer route of burning tyres in the street and inconveniencing everybody..

“We want to keep the public on side. We don’t want to bring the capital city to a stop or disrupt roads.”

In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said: “We will work with any organisation or individual wishing to organise a peaceful protest or demonstration in London and continue to speak with the NFU.

“We are also aware of a separate rally being planned by a group of farmers in central London on the same date. We are speaking with the organisers to work with them as they plan their event.”

Why is Jeremy Clarkson attending?

Perhaps the biggest name expected at the event will be Jeremy Clarkson, who will be out protesting with farmers, according to The Telegraph.

Clarkson, whose experiences of setting up and running his own farm are filmed for Clarkson’s Farm, has been a vocal critic of the plans set out in the budget and previously said that farmers were “very angry and anxious” about their future.

However, it is not known whether he will give a speech at the protest – but Clarkson has said he did not want to lead it.

He wrote on X: “The problem is that I’m not a family farmer and those who support [Keir] Starmer will point this out. Which means that any points scored will be lost in a blizzard of class war shoutiness.”

Clarkson told The Sun that he was “in a fortunate position” but “I feel desperately sorry for other farmers who are very angry and anxious about the future”.

What have politicians said about new IHT rules?

Shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins said farmers faced a threat from a “city-dwelling socialist government which does not understand or care for the rural way of life”.

She told MPs that farmers “feel that the government is coming after them and their family’s livelihoods, when all they and their ancestors have done is work hard, follow the rules, and fed us”.

Liberal Democrat environment and farming spokesperson Tim Farron said the changes to the tax could lead to “Lakeland clearances” near his Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency in Cumbria, with big corporates buying up small businesses.

He said: “This will be devastating not just for family farms but for rural communities as a whole.”

But environment secretary Steve Reed said that farmers should not “believe every alarming claim or headline” on changes to inheritance tax. The minister said the government is “committed to ensuring the future of family farms”.

He added: “Our reforms will put a stop to wealthy individuals buying up agricultural land to avoid inheritance tax, and in the process of doing that, pricing younger farmers out of buying land for themselves and for their families.”

Downing Street acknowledged there was “a high degree of strength of feeling” about the matter, and urged farmers to consider Treasury analysis, which said the vast majority of their number will not be impacted.

Read more

• Farm incomes plummeted by 50% in a year, official figures reveal as fears grow over ‘tractor tax’ (The Independent)

• MSPs vote to reverse Labour government's 'family farm tax' (The National)

• PM ‘totally disagrees’ with ex-Blair aide’s claim UK does not need small farmers (PA Media)