Suffolk: ‘We stay united’ – over 100 tractors are taking part in farmers’ rally
3rd February 2025
Over 100 tractors are taking part in the farmers’ rally on the A14 in Suffolk today.
The go-slow protest started off at Walk Farm on Felixstowe Road in Levington.
The convoy left the site at 10 am and headed westbound down the A14 to Bury St Edmunds.
The tractors are expected to be coming round, heading back eastbound on the A14 towards Port of Felixstowe Road. The convoy moves at slow speed, 20 mph.
READ MORE: ‘This is our last push’ – East Anglia farmers will again hit the streets
‘We stay united’
One of the organisers of the rally, Russel Abbott, who farms on the Shotley Peninsula, said: “We want to show the government as well as the public that we stay united.
“We stand together to show them how serious the issue with the inheritance tax is. We may have to do more protests later in the year, and if we have to, we will.
“At the same time, we want to keep things peaceful and try to get the public on our side.”
Farmers from all over the UK will meet at Whitehall in London next Monday, 10th February.
The demonstration, organised by Save British Farming, will be hosted from 1pm, and will coincide with the debate held in Parliament.
The MPs will debate the Family Farm Tax petition, which has received over 270,000 signatures.
British farmers have been protesting against changes to the inheritance tax that were announced during the Autumn Budget.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves extended the inheritance tax threshold freeze for another two years, until 2030. However, following much speculation, she confirmed reforms to agricultural property relief (APR) and business property relief (BPR) from April 2026.
From this date, the first £1 million of combined business and agricultural assets will continue to attract no inheritance tax. But, for assets over £1 million, inheritance tax will apply with 50% relief.
The change comes despite significant lobbying from the farming industry and a statement from the now Defra secretary of state Steve Reed last year, that Labour had “no intention of changing APR”.
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