NFU mass lobby – what you need to know

13 November 2024

Westminster Abbey and Church House

Photograph: Church House (right). Credit: Mike Booth / Alamy

On 19 November, farmer and grower members of the NFU will meet with their MPs in Parliament, urging them to ask the Chancellor to reconsider changes to Inheritance Tax. 

Our collective task on 19 November, although substantial, is straightforward.

Farmer and grower members of the NFU are coming to London to meet with their MPs to bring to life the impacts of this policy change on their farms, on British farming and on food supply, and to urge them to ask the Chancellor to reconsider these measures.

The essentials:

When: Tuesday 19 November, split into three sessions of 600 members per session, total 1,800, starting at 9am.

Where: Church House, Westminster, SW1P 3NZ

Who: Members who have registered for the event with the NFU


 

Update: 13 November

Update: 11 November

There is now a second complementary event in London on 19 November, which is organised by a group of farmers. We support members and farmers if they wish to attend this rally but the NFU is not responsible for organising it.

We continue to urge members to get in front of their MP, look them in the eyes and tell them from the heart how the changes to the APR will affect farming and growing businesses.

“Please don't miss the opportunity to engage with your MP, because they are the ones that ultimately have to get the government to take a different stance on this. You can do both events. We're working in a coordinated fashion and I really look forward to seeing you on the 19 November.”

NFU President Tom Bradshaw

We will continue to update Preparing for the day with the latest logistical news.

 


Why the NFU is holding a mass lobby

Since the Autumn Budget was announced, the NFU has been working flat-out to make the case to Treasury and wider government that the decision it has made to change Agriculture Property Relief and Business Property Relief must be over-turned, and to corral public and media support for farmers.

We believe the Treasury has built this policy on the wrong data and the changes it proposes will not deliver what it wants to achieve. It will not protect family farms, it will destroy them. 

The shock and anger among members has been acute. And it’s been heard.

Within just four days of being launched, our campaign to Stop the Family Farm tax has secured the support of more than 160,000 people, and millions more are expressing their concern across social media.

The family farm tax must be overturned.

Show your support and call for the government to overturn the family farm tax.

Add your name

In the media there have been more than 2,500 stories across national and regional press.

Broadcasters have carried the story strongly.

Behind the scenes, we’ve represented members’ shock, anger and fear to ministers, along with the evidence of why this policy doesn’t work. Be in no doubt that ministers and MPs know how furious and betrayed people feel.

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How we got here

In the days before the budget we began to hear APR might be on the agenda, despite clear promises that it wouldn’t be. The NFU responded at speed, with members writing more than 3,600 letters to MPs, a social media campaign landing well and our case being laid before the Chancellor and the Prime Minister.

We also had to quickly plan for the worst. We began building plans for a mass lobby for 19 November, bringing members to London for meetings with their MPs, so that the government would be pressured by its own back benchers, and NFU Council agreed this was the way forward in an emergency meeting the morning after the Budget.

Through this first event post-Budget it’s vital that we leave MPs in no doubt that their constituents, their voters, won’t accept this and will hold them responsible. There must be a political price to pay for this decision. This mass lobby is about landing that message as we work to have this decision reversed.

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Get involved

The mass lobby is taking place on 19 November at Church House Westminster. All members will have received an email since 31 October inviting those wishing to attend to register their interest.

Demand for this event has been amazing, with 1,800 NFU members registering their intention to come.

We’ve tripled our capacity in Church House from the original 600 (which is what the venue holds) to 1,800, via three rotations of 600, to ensure we can accommodate as many members as possible to the mass lobby – but we can’t make it any larger. But far more than 1,800 NFU members want their voice to be heard, and rightly. The level of anger in the industry may never have been so high.

If members haven't registered already, we're asking that they don't do so now.

While our mass lobby event is at capacity, we want this to be the first event, not the only event, where you can be heard.

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Can I attend if I haven't registered?

If you’re not registered on the event, please don’t travel to London. There’s another opportunity to make clear how you feel.

There are legal issues which mean we can’t simply turn up in numbers in Westminster on the streets, or the open spaces. We cannot risk either member or public safety, or the loss of public support, that could come from what could be an illegal demonstration.

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Preparing for the day

To get the most out of the day, it’s really important to get a meeting with your MP.

A must-read for members attending the NFU's mass lobby event – Timings and logistics.

If you have received an invitation to attend the mass lobby, you can use our campaigns tool to request a meeting with your MP to ask them for their support.

NFU members: Please send details of your MP meeting to your regional office before 19 November.

We will continue to update this page with details on logistics for the day.

Next steps

We’ve always said this event was just the start of this fight. If the government listens to us, before or after 19 November, we’ll all be relieved, but if it doesn’t, this event will be followed by another, at which farmers and growers will demonstrate how we feel about this devastating policy.

If we need it, that will be our show of mass unity and strength.

If government continues to refuse to listen, this will be step two.

Ministers need to understand that we won’t get tired, that we won’t go away, that this campaign will go on for as long as this terrible decision stands.

If they think we’ll give up, it just shows how much they don’t understand farmers.

 

Look out for your NFU communications

Please note the NFU's official email will always come from the @nfu.org.uk domain.

Primary communications on the mass lobby will come from either [email protected] or [email protected].

The NFU's national social media channels are as follows:

Our message to you

The message to you is threefold.

First, thank you. Thank you for your passion, your support for your fellow farmers.

Second, if you’re not registered for the mass lobby, please don’t think you have lost your chance to have your voice heard. If we don’t get the Family Farm Tax scrapped before it, we need you to be ready to march. That is our moment to rally.

Between now and then you can really help by asking to meet your own MP and telling them what the IHT policy means for you, your family, your farm and your future. We must keep the pressure up.

And finally, we hope every day that the government does the right thing, but our message to them is we’re in the long fight. This tax cannot stand; for your sake, for your family’s sake, for farming’s sake and for Britain’s sake.

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What is a mass lobby?

A mass lobby is when a large number of people, typically members of a large national organisation like the NFU, contact their MPs and members of the Lords in advance and arrange to meet with them at Parliament all on the same day to deploy the same set of messages.

Before you go to the meeting make sure that you’ve had a briefing from the NFU, to ensure that the MPs from Cornwall to Cumbria get the same messages from their farmer and grower constituents. 

Mass lobbies have been used by the NFU throughout its 116-year history, especially where large numbers of our members are seeking change or campaigning against a policy which will damage their businesses or the nation’s food supply. 

Mass lobbies are clearly targeted at parliamentarians who we are asking to influence decision makers, in this case the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

The mass lobby on 19 November will highlight the poorly thought-through changes to IHT (Inheritance Tax) and follows a similar pattern to those we have run previously, with a large in-person briefing followed by parliamentary meetings.

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November 2024

NFU organises a mass lobby to stop the family farm tax

Farmers and growers descend on London to meet with their MPs as part of the NFU’s call to action to reverse the family farm tax. NFU President Tom Bradshaw opens the mass lobby with an impassioned speech in Church House, Westminster with the presidents of the other UK farming unions on stage. Members then went to tell their story to their MPs. 

Support for the call to action quickly rises with over 231,000 members of the public joining the call to overturn the family farm tax.

November 2024

NFU meets with Defra and Treasury to discuss Inheritance Tax

NFU President Tom Bradshaw meets Defra Secretary of State Steve Reed and Treasury Minister James Murray to outline the impact of Inheritance Tax changes on family farms and national food security.

November 2024

Public backs NFU campaign to overturn family farm tax

On 1 November, the NFU launches the campaign urging the government to think again following its Autumn Budget announcement.

NFU members, British farmers and the public joined forces to call on the government to reverse its decision on the APR (Agricultural Property Relief), with more than 120,000 people adding their names to the campaign action to stop the family farm tax.

November 2024

NFU leads calls for family farm tax to be reversed

Britain’s farmers and growers will take part in a mass lobby of their MPs on 19 November to highlight the devastating impact of the recent budget on their farms, with changes to Agricultural Property Relief dealing a hammer blow to farming families.

Show your support and call for the government to overturn the family farm tax.

Add your name

 

Photograph: Mike Booth / Alamy

October 2024

Budget blow for British farming, says NFU

The NFU responds to Chancellor Rachel Reeves' Autumn Budget announcement, warning that new measures could lead to food price rises.

New measures include changes to APR (Agricultural Property Relief) that are likely to impact significant numbers of farm estates, including small and medium-sized enterprises, and an above-inflation hike in the NLW (National Living Wage), with the rate for over 21s increasing 6.7% to £12.21 from April.

October 2024

Farming industry writes to Chancellor amid fears of inheritance tax relief changes

The UK farming industry comes together to warn the Chancellor about the crippling effect changes to inheritance tax reliefs, including APR and BPR, would have on family farms, tenant farmers, domestic food security and environmental delivery.

Read the letter in full.

 

Photograph: Alex MacNaughton / Alamy

October 2024

APR changes would put family farms at risk, warns NFU

Reports that the Treasury is considering major changes to agricultural property relief as part of the forthcoming budget spark concern among farmers and growers.

NFU analysis of APR suggests that scrapping it would only save the Treasury £120 million per year, while the negative impact on farming would be much larger.

The NFU secures a debate in parliament this on the issue.

October 2024

7 key Autumn Budget asks – NFU writes to the Chancellor

The NFU writes to the Chancellor outlining the key asks for farming – chief among them is the need for a multi-year agriculture budget of £5.6 billion.

We are also seeking confirmation that there will be no changes to APR (Agricultural Property Relief) which currently exempts farmland from inheritance tax.

The NFU believes that any removal of APR is unlikely to raise much in the way of tax, but could lead to a contraction in the amount of rental land for farmers.

 

Photograph: amanda rose / Alamy

October 2024

Parliament debates the agriculture budget

Following NFU lobbying, MPs from across the House of Commons call on the government to deliver an increased agriculture budget after an opposition debate day raises the importance of farming to Britain’s food security, environment and economic growth.

September 2024

NFU launches 'write to your MP' campaign action

NFU President Tom Bradshaw brands newly released Defra figures as “unacceptable”, after they showed a £130 million yearly underspend against plans between April 2023 and March 2024.

The NFU had repeatedly shared its concerns about this issue.

On Back British Farming Day, the NFU calls for the government to deliver a renewed and enhanced multi-annual agriculture budget of £5.6 billion in the Autumn Budget on 30 October.

The NFU hosts a fringe event at the Labour Party Conference with Food Security and Rural Affairs Minister Daniel Zeichner on the panel. We reiterate our call for an increased budget.

September 2024

Defra Secretary commits to making farming's case to Treasury

At the NFU's Back British Farming Day parliamentary reception, Defra Secretary of State Steve Reed pledges to make farming’s case to the Treasury.

July 2024

‘Food security is our shared mission’, Farming Minister tells NFU MP reception

NFU holds first parliamentary reception after the State Opening of the new parliament. NFU President Tom Bradshaw pushes Minister Daniel Zeichner on the budget.

July 2024

NFU has first meeting with new Defra Secretary

NFU President Tom Bradshaw meets new Defra Secretary Steve Reed.

After the meeting Tom says: “Steve Reed has just outlined his plan for change and it’s good to hear that food security, the environment and flood management are all focus areas. These now need to be underpinned by a budget that will enable the necessary investment.”

June 2024

NFU meets with parliamentary candidates

In the run up to the election the NFU meets with almost 400 candidates, ensuring our message on the budget is heard.

May 2024

General election announced

The government announces a general election to take place on 4 July. The NFU continues to make the case for an agriculture budget that delivers for British farming and growing. 

May 2024

No. 10 hosts second Farm to Fork Summit

The NFU has secured major wins and explored ways to restore farmers’ confidence at the second Farm to Fork summit.

The summit coincides with several announcements which represent major wins for the NFU.

December 2023

NFU launches its general election manifesto

The NFU launches its Farming for Britain’s Future key policy asks ahead of an anticipated general election. These asks contain research from The Andersons Centre that explains why a robust agriculture budget must deliver for the stability and productivity of farming alongside the environment.

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This page was first published on 05 November 2024. It was updated on 13 November 2024.


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