Louth and Horncastle MP joins thousands of farmers in mass protest at Westminster

Victoria Atkins was accompanied by fellow Conservative MP Sir Edward Leigh, who represents Gainsborough, as thousands of farmers across the country descended on London to make their feelings known to the Labour government.

Among them were dozens of farmers from Lincolnshire, including many who run businesses in Horncastle, Mablethorpe, Alford, Spilsby and Louth and who claim they would not be able to afford the new tax.

Ms Atkins, who has just been appointed Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, says the new inheritance tax laws, introduced in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s Budget, are “devastating for family farms” and “pose a serious risk for domestic food security and food prices”.

She said: “Before the election, Labour promised not to target farmers. They have broken this promise and have shown that they fundamentally do not understand how our agricultural sector operates.”

“Labour’s measure is a tax bomb that will shatter family farms, including in Lincolnshire, as they are split up and sold. We will lose generations of expertise as well as risking food security because there is no guarantee that land will continue to produce food.

“This is why I pulled on my wellies and joined farmers from Lincolnshire and across the UK who made the long trek down to London to add our voice to their calls for this cruel tax to be reversed.”

Andrew Ward, one of the rally organisers and a Lincolnshire farmer, said: "The Budget threatens the destruction of the farming industry as we know it. Family farms and other businesses will be lost. If this happens, we can't feed people, and wildlife will also suffer.

"We haven't seen a threat to our rural way of life like this in decades. We have to make sure our voices are heard and the government listens."

Rhonda Thompson, the National Farmers Union’s county adviser for Lincolnshire, said: “The government has announced a seismic change to taxation with no warning and based on dated and incorrect information.

"It will see family farms broken up and will reduce our ability to produce home-grown quality food. This is a serious threat to the nation’s food security”.