Labour’s farming minister was embarrassingly left marooned in a taxi when angry protesters blocked his car from leaving a meeting. Daniel Zeichner was reportedly forced to sit in the vehicle after a tractor “broke down” across the car park entrance.
Footage posted online of the Farmers to Action protest against Rachel Reeves’s inheritance tax showed the minister sitting helplessly in the car, with reports suggesting he then pulled down the blinds to hide away. He was meeting food producers at Tavistock’s Bedford Hotel to discuss “the future of Dartmoor farming”.
In a post online, the protest group said they wanted to discuss the impact of the Government’s policies with Mr Zeichner.
It added: “It doesn’t seem like they want to listen. Our farmers will not back down. Abolish inheritance tax for all.”
It is understood that Mr Zeichner did not get out of the car to speak to farmers outside the event.
He previously sparked fury after it was claimed he told a rural conference that farmers are “not high on the pecking order” of the government.
The Chancellor said that from April 2026, combined agricultural and business property assets up to £1million will still receive 100% relief but anything above that will be taxed at an effective rate of 20%.
Asset-rich farmers who are cash-poor fear they will have to sell off their land, making it unviable for food production, to foot the tax bill.
The Daily Express’s Save Britain’s Family Farms crusade has demanded a U-turn.
A government spokeswoman said: “Our commitment to farmers remains steadfast.
“This Government will invest £5billion into farming over the next two years, the largest budget for sustainable food production in our country’s history.
“We are going further with reforms to boost profits for farmers by backing British produce and reforming planning rules on farms to support food production.
“Our reform to Agricultural and Business Property Reliefs will mean farmers will pay a reduced inheritance tax rate of 20%, rather than the standard 40% for other businesses, and payments can be spread over 10 years, interest-free. This is a fair and balanced approach, which fixes the public services we all rely on, affecting around 500 estates a year.”
