Trailer of Truth protest gears up for Labour conference

Frustrated farmers are preparing to deliver a blunt message to Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government this weekend – enough is enough on anti‑farming policies.

Tractors, banners and mounting anger will descend on Liverpool as farmers protest against tax hikes, broken policy, and political neglect they say are pushing rural Britain toward crisis.

The climax of Farmers To Action’s (FTA) month-long Trailer of Truth tour begins at 1pm on Sunday (28 September) outside ACC Liverpool (King Dock St, L1 8JS; what3words: party.chase.sculpture).

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

The campaign’s convoy of mobile message boards has crisscrossed the UK since early September, collecting handwritten pleas from farmers at markets, auctions and farms.

Three trailers – representing England, Scotland and Wales – will converge to deliver those messages to Labour conference delegates amid roaring tractor engines, placards and speeches by key farming voices.

IHT demand

The protest’s primary demand is to scrap Labour’s proposed farm inheritance tax due from April 2026, which FTA warns would devastate family farms and worsen mental health and confidence issues.

“This isn’t just about inheritance tax – it’s about protecting lives,” said FTA chairman Justin Rogers.

“With more than 7,600 farms currently up for sale in the UK – an outrageous figure – and reports of more farmers tragically taking their own lives, the industry must lead the way and change course.

“A big part of that is farmers standing together and saying no to these measures.”

Other demands include fairer supermarket pricing so primary producers receive a fair share, reform of national insurance burdens on rural businesses, stronger food and energy security, and the restoration of rural protections and consistent support schemes.

Under the banner “Truth over spin. Accountability over excuses”, FTA intends to hand-deliver its letters to Labour MPs, confronting them with the stark realities farming families face.

Speakers will include North Wales hill farmer Gareth Wyn Jones, Kent’s Jeff Gibson, Suffolk young farmer Spencer Campbell, Edinburgh livestock farmer Will Murray, and Northern Irish dairy farmer David Irwin.

The Rolling Thunder Bikers – a Northern Irish veterans group – will support the event.

Welsh grassroots organisations and national farming groups, including Digon Yw Digon, All Farmers, Farmers For Fairness, Midland Farmers, East Anglian Farmers Unite and Exmoor Farmers, have pledged backing for the protest.

Government stance

A UK government spokesperson emphasised farming’s key role in economic growth and food security, highlighting the £11.8bn pledged for sustainable farming this parliament, trade deal protections, and £1bn for a new biosecurity centre.

Treasury minister James Murray has defended the planned 20% inheritance tax on farm assets over £1m from next April as “fair and sustainable”, estimating it will impact about 500 farms annually.

However, the NFU, Country Land and Business Association, Countryside Alliance, Tenant Farmers Association and others challenge this, warning the tax will affect many more family-run farms.