Tavistock MP joins London farmers protest against budget tax changes

Torridge and Tavistock MP Sir Geoffrey Cox KC travelled to Whitehall on Budget Day to stand with farming families protesting against the Government’s plan to cap agricultural and business property relief. 

Farmers from across the country gathered in central London to raise concerns that the policy will lead to higher inheritance tax bills and threaten the future of family-run farms.

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Sir Geoffrey said he joined the protest to highlight what he described as “appalling damage” caused by the previous budget, in which long-standing tax reliefs on farm and business assets were restricted. 

He said these reliefs are “vital to the survival of family farms” and warned that rural communities would suffer if the cap goes ahead.

In a statement shared on social media, he criticised the Chancellor for failing to address the issue in the latest budget. “It was only too predictable that the Chancellor did not listen,” he said. “We will not rest until this cruel measure so devastating to the countryside is reversed.”

Sir Geoffrey repeated warnings he made during last year’s election campaign, arguing that the Government’s approach punishes people who work hard, save, and try to pass on businesses or farms to the next generation. 

He said the measures would “punish prudence, self-reliance and aspiration”.

ABOVE: The Farmers Protest in London yesterday included farmers from Devon (Image: Sir Geoffrey Cox)

Commenting on the wider economic outlook, he said the country was “groaning under the burdens the Chancellor has heaped on it in just 16 short months”. 

Citing forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility, he said productivity and growth were expected to fall while inflation, taxes, and debt were set to rise.

“This is the Government that promised growth and change,” he said, “but has delivered disappointment and disillusionment in equal measure.”

Cox’s intervention reflects growing concern among rural MPs and farming families, many of whom fear that the cap on reliefs could force the sale or break-up of family farms. 

The London protest is the latest in a series of demonstrations calling for the policy to be abandoned.