They piled into central London in their thousands, mostly on foot but some in tractors, with placards reading “No Farmers, No Food, No Future” and “The Final Straw” to protest the new Labour government’s decision to impose inheritance tax on farms for the first time in over three decades.

Farms worth more than about $1.3 million will face an estate tax from 2026, ending a previous exemption and prompting anger in some rural communities.

Thousands of farmers protested at Britain's parliament on Tuesday, some driving tractors through central London, to demand the scrapping of an inheritance tax that they say will destroy family farms and threaten food production.

British farmers are descending on Parliament to protest a hike in inheritance tax that they say will deal a "hammer blow" to struggling family farms.

The number of farms that could be affected by the inheritance tax change is disputed. The government says it will only affect the wealthiest 500 estates each year but the NFU and the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) have estimated up to 70,000 farms could be affected.

British farmers have descended on Parliament to protest a tax hike they say will deal a “hammer blow” to struggling family farms

The government is preparing to face the biggest protest yet over its Budget tax change as farmers gather in the capital.