The DUP’s Agriculture spokesperson said: “I will continue to support farmers as they campaign to STOP the family farm tax grab.

“Farmers and industry stakeholders were back in Westminster’s Parliament Square on Tuesday, protesting peacefully and respectfully on behalf of British agriculture. Their message was clear and it was heard – even though some within our ‘anti-farming’ government sought to silence them.

“Our farmers have chosen dialogue and dignity over disruption, but there is deep and growing discontent, and their patience is wearing very thin.”

The MP added: “Farmers are sick to the teeth of a Labour Government that continually claims to represent ‘working people’, while actively undermining those who work seven days a week to feed our nation.

“Despite relentless engagement, clear evidence, and heartfelt warnings from across the agri-food sector, the Chancellor looks set to push ahead regardless. This Finance Bill is not sensible reform – it is a direct assault on generational farming and the rural economy.”

Speaking during the second reading of the Finance Bill in the House of Commons, Carla Lockhart MP stated: “The reality of this policy is stark and deeply disturbing. The Prime Minister was recently challenged at the Liaison Committee, and told plainly that some farmers believe they may be better off dying before these changes come into force in April 2026. We need to let the reality of that sink in.

“His response, that the government must bring about ‘sensible reform’, was chilling. Sensible reform is not someone lying in an early grave to avoid the financial break-up of their family legacy.

“Sir Keir Starmer claims this policy is not targeted, that it is merely a technical change to the inheritance tax regime. But when the outcome is the destruction of small and medium-sized family farms, it is very clearly targeted in its effect. Calling it reform does not disguise the damage and mental distress it will cause.

“The Prime Minister also claims to be listening, but he isn’t, not even to his party colleagues who make up the majority on a number of parliamentary select committees,” she said.

UK farmers have conducted numerous, peaceful and respectful demonstrations in London over the last thirteen months. Recent protests have attracted an unnecessary and heavy-handed response from the Met Police, but despite threats of arrest and the seizure of tractors, farmers have remained dignified and determined.

Carla Lockhart added: “Let’s be clear, farmers have the means to be far more disruptive if they want to be. We only have to look across Europe to see what is happening there. That has never been the UK’s approach. These demonstrations are about being seen, being heard, and standing up for the future of our farming heritage.

“There is frustration and growing discontent across the UK, and nowhere will this be felt more acutely than in Northern Ireland, where higher land valuations and land prices mean the impact will be even more severe.

“These reckless changes, due to be implemented in April 2026, threaten to undermine food security, hollow out rural economies and destabilise the wider agri-food sector. Northern Ireland farmers are already operating under unique pressures, and these proposals risk breaching international obligations while placing them at an even greater disadvantage.”



The MP continued: “This fight will go on. The Finance Bill will come under further scrutiny in the New Year, so it’s crucial that farmers and industry leaders, especially those living in Great Britain, continue to lobby rural MP’s and persuade them to change course before it’s to late.

“It is encouraging to hear a number of Labour MP’s breaking rank and declaring their feelings against the Chancellor’s ‘tax grab’. Over 40 members abstained when we voted on this a couple of weeks ago, and whilst their actions send a powerful message to the government, it doesn’t go far enough. A definite ‘no’ vote would help to strengthen the opposition.”

Concluding, Carla Lockhart also expressed concerns that, due to Windsor Framework implications, clauses 13 to 15 of the Finance Bill discriminate against local farmers. These clauses increase support for businesses across the UK, apart from those located in Northern Ireland. It is not that we have been overlooked; these clauses expressly, explicitly and deliberately exclude us.”