Hundreds of north-east farmers join tractor rally against ‘family farm tax’

Around 200 tractors travelled from Inverurie to Aberdeen today in protest at the UK Government’s so-called “family farm tax”.

Angry farmers took part in the tractor rally to vent frustrations at Labour’s first budget in government since they won July’s general election.

Chancellor Rachael Reeves announced changes to inheritance tax reliefs, which will come into play from April 2026, with taxes applying to agricultural assets over £1 million (or up to £3 million in certain circumstances).

Despite concerns, the government said that “most estates will not be affected by the changes”.

However, this has not stopped tractors from taking to the streets of Westminster, Holyrood and now the north-east.

What do the farmers who drove tractors into Aberdeen think?

Patrick Sleigh, who farms near Oldmeldrum, said the government has got it “very, very wrong”.

“It’s going to end up costing more money than they are taking in and create so much hardship right across society.

He feels it is an ideological attack on “not just the farming industry, but the rural community” as a whole.

“Farming is the backbone of the rural community. Take that away, many other things fall and I’m speaking about associated industries like machinery, livestock producers.

“Everything it services to the farming industry up and down the whole country,” he said.

Before the cohort headed off at around 11am for the 15-mile journey to Aberdeen beach.

Those attending heard speeches, including from Gordon and Buchan’s Conservative MP Harriet Cross.

Ms Cross is vehemently opposed to her opponents’ proposals and has raised the issued in parliament.

Speaking to The Press and Journal at today’s rally, she said the policy will be to the “detriment of all of us, but particularly our rural communities”.

Family farm tax ‘completely devastating’

She added: “It’s so important that we support our farmers, our family farmers, in particular. They feed the nation, they have for generations.

They make sure that our countryside looks the way it does and provide so much rural employment.

“What Labour are doing with this family farm tax is completely devastating. They say that they’re trying to target the big landowners who are using it as a tax haven, but that is not what they’re doing. They’re targeting the small family farmers and they’re the ones who are going to actually have to pay this tax.”

As trucks travelled down the A96 towards the Granite City, people tooted their horns in support.

There was a crowd waiting over the flyovers at Kintore.

Once in the city, people also showed their support to the farmers by taking video, waving and putting their thumbs up as they passed.

Their finishing point was at the beach, where an army of tractors lined up in a sign of unity.

Portsoy farmer Jack Stevenson, national combinable crops chair at the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) Scotland, was delighted with the turnout.

He said: “It just shows you the level of passion that there is for the industry.

“It shows how much we want to try to serve you in the future.

“This inheritance tax by the Labour government is going to finish the family farms passing from generation to generation.”