Scottish tractor rally of almost 200 farmers in protest over Labour’s family farm tax

A Scottish tractor rally of nearly 200 farmers in protest over Labour’s family farm tax has taken place in a bid to send a message to the Prime Minister that the industry ‘won’t give up’.

Gordon and Buchan MP Harriet Cross gave a speech at the North East Scotland Tractor Rally at Thainstone Agricultural Centre near Inverurie on Thursday.

Organised by the North East branch of the National Farmers’ Union Scotland (NFUS), the event was led by Aberdeenshire farmers Scott Campbell, Russell Rennie, Paddy Donald and Kevin Gilbert.

A convoy of almost 200 tractors started at Thainstone before travelling along the A96 to Aberdeen.

It comes amidst fury over Labour’s controversial plans which would see combined business and agricultural assets worth more than £1 million being taxed at 20% from April 2026.

Scottish Conservative MP for Gordon and Buchan, Harriet Cross, who has led the campaign in Westminster to stop the family farm tax, said: ‘The emphatic message was loud and clear from farmers at the North East tractor rally – we won’t stop.

‘Farming forms the lifeblood of the North East and Scotland, however Labour’s family farm tax could decimate our rural communities.

‘Keir Starmer thinks farmers will eventually forgive and forget, but that couldn’t be any further from the truth.

‘Farmers, their communities, and rural politicians like myself are in this for the long haul and we will continue to fight against this unfair tax regime.

‘This cruel policy from Labour would mark the end of many family farms and wipe out a significant number of the next generation of farmers.

‘Keir Starmer must start to recognise the devastating consequences of this and reverse his proposals to safeguard both farming and the nation before it’s too late.”

The government says the increase is necessary to fund improvements to public services. It has previously said the majority of farms would be unaffected by the changes.

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