'We need change' - protesting farmers in the South

"They've taken food production and food security for granted and think that food just appears out of nowhere."

Farmers across the south of England are calling for change after it was announced in the Autumn Budget that some farms would be charged inheritance tax.

Karl Franklin, a farmer in Oxfordshire, said the news had caused "shock, massive worry and stress" in the farming community.

The government said its "difficult decisions" were due to "a £22bn fiscal hole".

It is thought between 10,000 and 40,000 people will attend a protest in London on Tuesday - the biggest yet over the government's domestic policy agenda.

Before the announcement, farmers had been exempt from paying inheritance tax since 1984.

The series of changes announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves mean that from April 2026 combined business and agricultural assets worth more than £1m would be taxed at 20% when they are ed on to the next generation.

This is half the standard rate of 40%.

There has been a range of claims about how many farms will be affected.

The largest estimate - 70,000 - relates to the total number that could ever be affected. But the number of farms to be impacted each year is likely to be about 500.

Chipping Norton farmer Mr Franklin said: "British farming is built on family farms and small independent farms.

"If they start going... how are we going to be producing food in the future to come":[]}