FARMERS from the West Somerset and Wellington areas will be heading to London on Monday (February 10) to take part in the latest protest against the Labour Government’s proposal to cut farm inheritance tax relief.

It is expected to be the largest farming protest in recent history, eclipsing one in December when 700 tractors blocked Whitehall to send Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer the message ‘No Farmers, No Food’.

The demonstration is timed to coincide with a Parliamentary debate on the future of agricultural inheritance tax triggered by a petition signed by 147,975 people nationwide.

The petition included 669 residents in the Tiverton and Minehead constituency, the 11th highest number of signatures per constituency across the UK.

Exmoor farmer and businessman James Wright will lead a convoy of local farmers to the capital.

Mr Wright said: “This is not just about farming.

“It is about rural schools, businesses, and communities.

“Labour is not just coming after family farms, they are attacking the very heart of Britain’s rural identity.

“If you think this stops at the farm gate, think again.

“No farmers means no food, no thriving villages, and no future for rural Britain.

“Labour is framing this as targeting wealthy landowners, but they are wrong.

“This will devastate family farms, force the closure of rural schools, and crush small businesses that rely on farming communities.

“This is not just policy failure, it is cultural vandalism.”

Mr Wright said inheritance tax relief had for generations allowed farms to be passed on in the family, enabling farmers to invest in food production.

He said while the Treasury claimed only 500 farms would be affected, research by the National Farmers’ Union indicated 75 per cent of commercial family farms would be impacted by the Government changes, resulting in 70,000 farms being affected each generation.