Tractors line the streets of Northamptonshire as farmers stage protest highlighting 'the mistakes Labour are making'
Tractors have been lining the roads of Northamptonshire including in Wellingborough and Kettering as farmers take action to protest at the government’s ‘mistakes’ regarding its policies on farming.
Around midday today (Wednesday, April 30), sirens and horns could be heard through Kettering as the convoy stopped outside the council offices, just one day before the local elections are set to take place.
Numerous tractors lined Bowling Green Road, stopping at the traffic lights to deliver their message.
Philip Weston, a fifth generation farmer from Hartwell, led the protest.
He said: “We’ve got plans in place in terms of what we’re doing for the next generation, but if we knew then what we know now we’d have sorted this a long time ago.
"Labour government have left us absolutely no time to plan our business around this, we’re not just out here for inheritance tax, it’s about the other things like dealing with compulsory purchase orders and the average person in the street pensioner having their winter fuel allowance cut, this is the military they’re affecting, and the bin men."
When asked why they were protesting outside the Conservative-run North Northants Council, he said ‘obviously North Northants is in central Northamptonshire, that’s Labour-based, and south-central Northamptonshire is Labour-based.’
Tractors of all shapes and sizes joined the protest, many with signs and slogans criticising the government’s inheritance tax plans. Police were also in attendance.
Deafening sirens mimicking songs such as Darude Sandstorm and The Final Countdown played out as the tractors stopped at the traffic lights for around 45 minutes.
Jason Timms from Leicestershire was part of the convoy that stopped outside the Kettering council offices.
He said: “It's the local elections tomorrow and we’re trying to make a point so they don’t forget what we’re talking about.
“Because of the elections we’re out there, we’ve been through Wellingborough and Northampton and doing a bit of a lap; most of the tractors are farmers from Leicestershire and Northamptonshire.
“Most guys here don’t need to be here today, we’ve got plenty to be doing but we need to get a point across.
"We’d have to sell a portion of the farm to pay the inheritance tax. If they change it back to how it was we’d be fine, and if everybody wants good food, farming needs supporting.”
Rob Brown, a Northamptonshire-based farmer, added: “We’re trying to make people realise the mistakes Labour are making.
"It’s a great feeling, people are realising that Labour are not out to help them.”
Farmers who have lined the streets in Kettering are now planning to leave the town with a 30kph journey onto Welford via the A14, back to Roade.
Several police officers were in attendance at the protest, with a spokesman for Northants Police telling this newspaper: “It was a pre-planned protest that we were aware of, which caused some traffic disruption but passed peacefully with no incidents reported to us.”