'Shropshire is proud to be one of Britain’s great farming counties' - Councillor backs farming protest as police make arrests
Several people have been arrested after farmers drove tractors into central London for a Budget day protest, despite police restrictions.
More than a dozen tractors could be seen parked outside Parliament on Wednesday morning, with rush-hour traffic brought to a standstill and farmers repeatedly sounding the tractor horns while police stood watching.
Farmer Mark Watler from Grantham, Lincolnshire, was among campaigners from the National Farmers’ Union gathered in Trafalgar Square.
The 50-year-old said: “The inheritance tax is just the tip of the iceberg. We’re not doing it for the money, it’s a passion. We just want a fair deal.”
He added: “I’ve grown up working on farms from the age of 12. It’s disheartening to see how we’re being treated.”
Reform UK said it would pay for the defence of farmers arrested at the demonstration, saying it was “outrageous”.
Reform UK Shropshire Councillor George Hollyhead said he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with farmers against Labour’s punishing “family farm tax”
He said: “Shropshire is proud to be one of Britain’s great farming counties. Our family farms are not just businesses – they are the backbone of our rural communities, the custodians of our landscape, and the people who put food on the nation’s tables.
"I stand with our farmers today and every day until this cruel and counterproductive policy is scrapped."
Despite the protests, Chancellor Rachel Reeves made no mention of reversing the policy in her budget statement.
