Vicky the cow leads last-minute IHT fight in Westminster

Vicky the cow was back in Parliament Square today – and with her, a fresh warning to the government about its controversial farm inheritance tax (IHT) plans.

The 18-month-old pedigree Limousin heifer, who now has her own Instagram page, returned to Westminster with her owner, Oxfordshire farmer David Passmore, as farmers stepped up their fight against the government’s IHT) plans just eight days before the Budget on 26 November.

Mr Passmore told Farmers Weekly he had brought Vicky back to Westminster to remind ministers that farmers “have not gone away” and to highlight growing anger in the industry over what campaigners call the “family farm tax”.

Vicky the cow and David Passmore © MAG/Philip Clarke

See also: Farmers and Labour MPs unite over family farm tax fears

Nearly a year ago, the pair stood in the same spot at a large-scale farmer rally, when thousands protested against plans to remove agricultural and business property relief (APR and BPR).

Vicky, described by Mr Passmore as “a super heifer” who will be kept for breeding, has become a familiar sight in London since her first appearance last December.

“My daughter has reared her from a calf,” he said. “She’s probably the world’s most photographed cow today.”

Mr Passmore argued that the government’s current proposal to impose a 20% tax on inherited agricultural assets from April 2026 would “catch out farmers and not the people it originally intended to target”.

Alternative proposal

Instead, he voiced his support for an alternative proposal by the taxation think tank CenTax, which recommends raising the IHT thresholds with exemptions for active farmers.

“It’s an easy listening exercise for a win for the government, the Treasury and the countryside. All the answers are there,” Mr Passmore said.

Today’s protest saw a handful of Labour MPs from the party’s Rural Research group unite with farmers at Parliament Square to urge their own government to rethink its farm IHT plans.

Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice and several prominent Conservative MPs also attended to show their support.

Richard Tice, right, talks to industry leaders © MAG/Philip Clarke

‘Grain of hope’

Herefordshire farmer Martin Williams, a long-time organiser of the London protests, said recent mixed signals from government had given campaigners “a little grain of hope”.

But he stressed they would push on until after the Budget. “We’ve said initially that we would continue this push until we could continue no more – and I don’t think we’ve got there yet.

“The Finance Bill is probably the final act.”

Tuesday’s protest was backed by the Berkshire Farmers group, which brought three farm vehicles to Westminster, including a tractor transporting a slurry tanker with a placard on its front “The Think Tanker”.

Carla Lockhart, Martin Williams and Cameron Kinch with Vicky the cow © MAG/Philip Clarke

UFU representatives in town

Several representatives from the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) were also in London to lobby MPs.

UFU president William Irvine warned: “Farmers will be severely impacted by the removal of agricultural and business property relief… This policy is going to wreck the rural economy, rural communities and people’s lives.”

Northern Ireland Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MP Carla Lockhart echoed his warning, saying: “They are going to decimate family farms and unfortunately, there’s no redeeming that… it will put our food security at risk.”

Among the younger voices was Somerset farmer and Big Brother contestant Cameron Kinch, who travelled to London after speaking publicly about the strain on his own family.

“I do lose sleep over it – the ramifications could be unthinkable,” he said. “If they don’t want the rural economy to implode, they can do something about it in the Budget next week – and they need to act now.”