Farmer protest greets Starmer and Labour in Liverpool

Tractor engines roared and banners flew as farmers rolled into Liverpool on Sunday with a clear message to Labour: we won’t back down on inheritance tax – and this is just the beginning.

Led by grassroots group Farmers To Action (FTA), the protest in Liverpool capped a month-long “Trailer of Truth” campaign, sending a clear message to Sir Keir Starmer’s government at Labour’s autumn conference – “enough is enough”.

Three trailers – representing England, Scotland, and Wales – converged on the city after touring the countryside collecting messages of protest against Labour’s planned farm inheritance tax (IHT) on estates worth more than £1m, set to come into force in April 2026.

See also: FTA’s Trailer of Truth rolls into Westminster

From economic collapse to mental health breakdowns, speaker after speaker warned the consequences of the tax would ripple far beyond the farm gate.

VIDEO: Farmers protest Labour’s inheritance tax plans at Starmer’s Liverpool conference: ‘Enough is enough’ #traileroftruth #AxeTheFamilyFarmTax #NoFarmersNoFood @FarmersToAction pic.twitter.com/3KvlOqxLdb

— Philip Case (@PhilipCaseFW) September 28, 2025

Alan Hughes, FTA coordinator and Shropshire tenant farmer, said: “If something drastic isn’t done, I can guarantee that within the next 10 to 15 years, every farmer in this country will be paying inheritance tax, if they aren’t facing it already.”

He urged Labour to listen, warning that if not, farmers “will keep protesting, we will keep lobbying – and this time, we will turn the tables on them and the supermarkets”.

United action

Calling for united action on supermarket pricing, Mr Hughes said: “Instead of being forced into unfair contracts with supermarkets, we are going to start united, group negotiations.

“We will demand a fair share for farmers… Alone, a farmer can be picked off, but together, we’re unstoppable.”

FTA chairman Justin Rogers criticised out-of-touch decision-makers. “Our industry has been under attack by men in suits for a very long time… I would trust my two-year-old toddler to spend the British budget better than the politicians we’ve got.”

Aberdeenshire farmer Scott Campbell, one of the drivers of the Scottish trailer, warned: “Even with all the government’s grants and support funding, this tax is not sustainable… it’s adding stress to families and giving them no time to plan or save their farming business for the next generation.”

Kathleen Renner, a seventh-generation East Sussex farmer, said her 12-year-old son deserves better. “No farms, no food, no future. This fight isn’t just for farmers – it’s for every family in Britain.”

She added: “The NFU can’t lead us, so we must act for ourselves and Britain. We’re organised, united, parked on their front lawn… We’re not going anywhere.

“The battle for Britain, our people, communities, and industries starts here.”

Somerset farmer Charlie Walford said his IHT bill would reach £1m on a farm that made just £12,500 profit last year: “We’re going to have to sell half the farm to pay the bill.”

© MAG/Phil Case

Global corporations

David Irwin, of Redhouse Holsteins, a fourth-generation dairy farmer from Benburb, County Tyrone, said: “This death tax will, over time, fragment farms until there isn’t a single farm left in the UK.”

He added: “It is so designed that it is inevitable that slowly, but surely, all generational family-owned land in the UK will be brought to market to be scooped up by global corporations.”

Welsh hill farmer and social media influencer Gareth Wyn Jones said: “Farmers are undervalued in life and overvalued in death. I’ve told my father – he is 89 – he has to outlive the term of these idiots.”

Spencer Campbell, a 20-year-old Suffolk farmworker, said: “Farming mental health is at an all-time low… I’m worrying every night what will happen. Will I have a job next year?”

Sunday’s protest was backed by the Together movement, multiple farming groups, and NI veterans’ organisation Rolling Thunder Bikers.

Government stance

Treasury minister James Murray previously defended the tax as “fair and sustainable”, estimating 500 farms will be affected annually.

But groups including the NFU, CLA and TFA dispute this, warning many more family-run farms will be hit.