Farmers invited to take part in National Day of Unity this January
3rd January 2025
UK farmers have been invited to show unity and strength by participating in a nationwide day of action on 25th January.
On the last Saturday of January, towns in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, from Land’s End to Shetland and from the Giant’s Causeway to Dover, will see farmers gather to highlight the damage that the changes to inheritance tax will do to family farms across the UK.
The farmers will also thank the British public for their overwhelming support and reassure the government that their campaign will not stop until the tax is subject to consultation and proper scrutiny.
The NFU will join NFU Cymru, NFU Scotland and the Ulster Farmers’ Union for the National Day of Unity.
The day’s events will vary from region to region, but three simple messages will run through all of them: ‘This tax is badly thought out and will crush family farming in Britain’, ‘The wonderful support of the public means everything to farmers’, ‘We are not going away. This will go on as long as it needs to go on’.
READ MORE: ‘Food security is national security’- Farmers protest in London
Unity and strength
NFU President Tom Bradshaw said: “Farmers haven’t taken this destructive policy lying down and we won’t give up. There is too much at risk – our families, our future, our heritage and the undermining of the very sector that produces a safe, secure supply of British food.
“This date will give everyone that wants to an opportunity to support family farms from right across the UK, to show unity and strength, and for farmers and growers to speak as one in our call for government to stop the family farm tax.
“We are so grateful to members of the British public for their ongoing support on this issue. The 25th is not just a day for the farming community to show unity, but anyone who believes Britain’s family farms, and the high-quality food they produce, deserve to be better valued and supported.”
In Scotland, NFU Scotland will be holding coordinated, authorised tractor rallies in every region on the morning of 25th January, with the region’s local politicians invited to attend, allowing them to hear at first hand the devastating impact these proposed taxation burdens will have.
NFU Scotland president Martin Kennedy said: “This is a call to action for every member of NFU Scotland, and we will be urging them, where possible, to participate in these organised rallies and show the continued strength of feeling against UK government proposals.
“Using approved routes, these rallies will also present an opportunity to thank the public for their ongoing support on this issue. This activity is part of our wider plan to highlight the damage these tax plans will have in the lead-up to the UK government’s Spring Statement in March 2025, where we will be demanding formal changes to its plans.
“We need the UK government to stop; reset; reflect; and properly engage and consult on an alternative approach – one that does not have deep, unintended consequences for the future of farming.”
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