Jeremy Clarkson to protest against tractor tax alongside rebel farmers

Jeremy Clarkson, pictured filming his Amazon TV series
Jeremy Clarkson will add weight to the protest that aims to inspire a change in rules - Television Stills

Jeremy Clarkson is to join rebel farmers next week at a protest against the Chancellor’s tractor tax.

The former Top Gear presenter, who has won plaudits for showing the realities of agricultural life on his TV series Clarkson’s Farm, is in talks with organisers to give a speech.

Thousands of farmers are expected to descend on Westminster on Nov 19 to oppose Rachel Reeve’s new tax, which stops all farms being passed on inheritance tax free.

Ms Reeves announced the decision in her recent Budget. Farm estates worth more than £1 million will instead incur a 20 per cent inheritance tax charge from April 2026.

Labour made the change to block tax avoiders buying up agricultural estates, but it has caused fears genuine farming families with land but little income will be forced to sell up.

Tory MPs said that reports in The Telegraph revealing some farmers were considering boycotting ports showed how deep concern was in agricultural communities.

Farmers' tractors lined up with a sign that reads 'back British farmers'
Farmers drove their tractors slowly around the roads near the Port of Dover and urged people to support them - Jamie Lorriman

Mr Clarkson’s attempts to run a 1,000-acre farm near Chipping Norton in West Oxfordshire feature in the Amazon series Clarkson’s Farm.

He revealed his fury at Ms Reeves’s inheritance tax change within hours of the Budget, writing on X that farmers had been “shafted”.

Mr Clarkson wrote then: “Farmers. I know that you have been shafted today. But please don’t despair. Just look after yourselves for five short years and this shower will be gone.”

His appearance at the rally – the specifics of which are still being discussed with organisers – will put further pressure on the Government to reverse or amend the plans.

A representative for Mr Clarkson confirmed he would attend but said he had not yet agreed to give a speech.

Two linked events will be taking place on Nov 19 aimed at forcing the Government to reverse their changes to agricultural property relief (APR).

A rally is being organised by a group of farmers, including a march through Westminster and speeches from a stage in Parliament Square.

The rally is planned for around 10am to 2.30pm. A full list of speakers is expected to be confirmed later this week. The rally was planned after the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) said they would not be organising a march.

Organisers are keen to avoid it being hijacked by politicians for party point-scoring, so the focus is expected to be on farmers and the impact of the tax rise on their lives. While the NFU isn’t organising the rally, the union is supportive of it.

A separate event for about 1,800 farmers will be hosted on the same day at Church House in Westminster by the NFU to pressure Labour MPs.

They are being encouraged to organise meetings in Parliament with the 100 Labour MPs who now represent rural constituencies after the July general election.

Jeremy Clarkson leans on a field gate and a yellow tractor is behind him
Jeremy Clarkson, pictured on his farm Diddly Squat, says that farmers have been ‘shafted’ by the new Labour tax - Television Stills

An NFU source involved in the planning told The Telegraph: “Sitting farmers opposite their MPs and helping the politicians understand what this means to them and their family and farm is ultimately what will turn the Government on this.

“We need backbench Labour MPs to be saying to No 10 and No 11 ‘this is really serious, we have a major issue here’.”

Martin Williams, 59, is one of the rally’s organisers. He is a third-generation farmer who grows cereals and grasslands on the banks of the River Wye in Herefordshire.

Mr Williams said of the march: “Someone has to take a stand and question what goes on. Farming needs a voice, the countryside needs a voice.”

The rally is not expected to see tractors bringing traffic in Parliament Square to a standstill, as one protest did earlier this year. But some farmers are, separately, mulling direct action.

The Telegraph revealed this weekend how rebel farmers are threatening to target ports and disrupt supermarket supply chains in protest against Labour tax rises.

John Glen, the former chief secretary to the Treasury who spoke out against the inheritance tax rise last week in Parliament, said it showed how frustrated farmers have become.

Mr Glen said: “Traditionally the vast majority of UK farmers have resisted direct action. The fact that significant numbers are planning such action demonstrates how upset and betrayed they feel.”