The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) has notified the NI Parades Commission that over 2,000 tractors could take part in events across NI on Saturday 25 January, as part of a UK-wide protest against proposed reforms to inheritance tax (IHT).

The tractor rallies are due to assemble at six locations across NI (Lisburn, Armagh, Enniskillen, Omagh, Derry and Ballymena) at 2pm next Saturday, with up to 400 tractors at each event. Similar tractor protests are taking place on the same day in England, Scotland and Wales.

Speaking to agricultural journalists on Monday, UFU President William Irvine described the IHT reforms announced in the last autumn budget by UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves as “the straw that broke the camel’s back”. Those reforms include a proposed £1m threshold for Agricultural Property Relief (APR) from IHT, due to come into force from April 2026.

“I have never seen anything like it to unite our membership,” said Irvine.

He said the upcoming protests were an important opportunity to remind government of the strength of opposition against the reforms, but accepted that further action is likely to be required.

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“No one is naïve enough to think it will change government minds. There will be more events, I suspect. Across the four UK farm unions, we all see it as a long haul,” he said.

The UFU believes the general public is supportive of farmers, but is mindful of the need to keep people onside and not cause too much disruption at this stage – hence the choice of a Saturday afternoon for the tractor rallies. It also wants farmers to stay united, amid warnings that so-called splinter groups, who might want to take more radical action, could undermine collective efforts to get the IHT proposals overturned.

Meeting

In the short term, the main ask from the main farm lobby is to get a meeting with Rachel Reeves and/or her Treasury officials to outline the impact that proposed IHT changes will have on local family farms.

“We have lobbied extensively in Westminster, but we cannot, at this point, get through the Chancellor’s door, despite the support from her Labour colleagues to facilitate and do so,” said Irvine.

Policy

He also confirmed that the current position of the UFU is that the proposed reforms to IHT must be reversed in full. He accepts that is “a most unlikely outcome”, but points out that it is impossible to discuss workable solutions if Treasury officials won’t facilitate discussions.

“We haven’t put any position through our Executive. Our current mandate is that we are opposed to any change,” said Irvine.