East Lothian farmers travel to London rally to protest inheritance tax changes

Last Wednesday, farmers from all over the United Kingdom made their way to Whitehall in protest against plans to introduce inheritance tax on farms, which were announced in the Budget.

The Metropolitan Police estimated that about 13,000 people attended, with former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson among them. 

READ MORE: Farms reeling from inheritance tax grab

Couples Haig Hamilton, 54, and Pauline Hamilton, 45, of West Fortune Farm, along with Tom Tate, 61, and Caroline Tate, 46 of Wamphray and Gleghornie farms, travelled nearly 400 miles by train for the protest. 

Mr Hamilton told the Courier: “For us going down, I, Pauline, Tom and Caroline felt so strongly about this and we wanted to show our support. 

From left: Haig and Pauline Hamilton, and Caroline and Tom Tate, travelled to London to rally against the proposed inheritance tax changes announced in the Budget (Image: Pauline Hamilton)

“I feel so highly about it, I have a family farm of 850 acres and most farms have been passed down the generations.

“[Prime Minister Sir Keir] Starmer has always said he would look after farmers, we were all expecting capital gains to change and all of that at the Budget, but one thing we didn’t [expect] was inheritance tax.

“When you’ve got 20 per cent to pay on the value of the land and all your assets, yes you have 10 years at zero per cent interest, but it is a lot of money. There are a lot of farmers who are asset rich but cash poor, but we just don’t have that money to be throwing back to the Government.”

Mr Hamilton said it had taken him “a few days to digest” the measure when it was announced in the Budget.

He went on: “Our family has spoken to our accountant and lawyer, and we will have to wait to see what comes out of it, but we won’t be making any rash decisions.

“But I need to look to the future and think of this farm as for my children, but the last thing I want to be doing is putting a noose round their necks. 

“My father and family have done a great job of building this farm up and I don’t want my children to have a noose round their neck, selling off assets to pay the inheritance tax.”

The Metropolitan Police estimated that about 13,000 people attended the rally (Image: Pauline Hamilton)

And he added: “How many suicides are there going to have to be?

“Farmers are a very high rate of suicide in the whole nation. More farmland coming on the market will drive prices down, with major companies possibly coming in and buying it. 

“Farming has a high suicide rate, it certainly isn’t going to lessen it and I can only imagine it is going to make it worse.

“Time will tell what happens there, and there is a lot of time between now and April 2026, when this is supposedly supposed to be introduced.”

In response to the protest, the Prime Minister said that he understood farmers’ concerns and “wants to support” them but claimed that “the vast majority” would be unaffected.

The Prime Minister’s spokesperson later said that the Government would not reconsider the policy, adding: “We have set out the reasons we have taken this difficult decision and why we believe it’s a fair and proportional approach.”