A furious farmer whose family faces losing their 143-year-old estate will take the streets today to protest Labour's "destructive" tax raid.

Will Lacey, 37, will be among hundreds of farmers driving their tractors to Westminster on Monday for the 'Change Your Tune, Starmer' demonstration.

They are demanding the Government rethink plans to introduce a 20% inheritance tax on agricultural land.

Mr Lacey told the Express: "I would say to Rachel Reeves - please think again.

"At the moment, this tax on historic farming families will destroy the industry and we have no option but to protest.

"We have to take the message of this destructive tax to the streets of London because the Government is not willing to listen.

"We would all rather be caring for our livestock and growing food, but unless something changes, that is not going to be possible for so many family farms, which are the backbone of the industry."

Lacey's Family Farm in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, faces a double hit from the Chancellor's slew of new taxation measures.

Not only will they be hit with a 20% inheritance tax in the future, but they may also have to close their award-winning farm shop much sooner due to a hike in employers' National Insurance and a minimum wage rise.

Mr Lacey, who runs the farm with his brother Ed, added: "If the plans go ahead, I don't know where the next generation of farmers will be coming from. "As much as I want to keep the business alive, I can't afford it."

An increase of the National Insurance paid by employers from 13.5% to 15% and a 6.7% rise in the minimum wage from April 2025 also seem "counterintuitive" to supporting small-scale enterprises, he said.

"It means the cost will far outweigh the value of an employee for businesses like ours. And it's not just us suffering - this is hitting the local pub, the post office and the pharmacy.

"All of these people who are cornerstones of a rural community could disappear because no one can make a living. It's easy to feel like we're being forgotten and ignored by the people making these decisions in London."

Today's demonstration will make a pit stop at Belmont Farm in North London, where Reform UK leader Nigel Farage will slam the "egregious" attack on the agricultural sector.

Will, who backs the Express' campaign to 'Save Britain's Family Farms,' says the Government is being "very shortsighted" with the measures - adding that it could lead to more land being bought by foreign investors.

He added: "I didn't vote for Labour, and I didn't have high hopes when they got in power.

"But they have somehow managed to be worse than even those low expectations. I know they've got to raise money somehow, but the Budget will make almost everything more painful for small rural businesses."

If the family was forced to sell farmland to cover the new costs, it would mark a break in their 142-year history at the site on Lane End in High Wycombe.

Will's family first secured a farming tenancy agreement in 1883 and his great-grandfather his first herd of pedigree Guernsey cows in the 1930s.

"Family farms are different to most businesses, as they tend to be sole traders or partnerships as opposed to companies," Will explained. "That means the person is the business.

"The equipment used to produce food and farm is all incredibly expensive - land, machinery and livestock. It wouldn't be possible for someone to set up a farm today without huge financial backing."

The inheritance tax overhaul sparked outrage across the farming sector after it was announced in the Chancellor's October Budget.

Many argue that the threshold didn't take into account the inflated value of agricultural land compared to the actual profit it creates.

The Farmer's Retail Association has also suggested that more than 700 farm shops - over half of the 1,580 currently operating in the UK - could be forced to close by the wider taxation measures, putting thousands of jobs at risk.

"We're facing the inheritance tax changes, which, as with other farms, will mean essentially selling off 20% of assets every generation to pay those taxes," Emma Mosey, chairman of the FRA and owner of Minskip Farm Shop in Yorkshire said.

"But we've also got the business side as well because we're employing people in stores and that is going to cost more."

The Daily Express' Save Britain's Family Farm crusade has called for a U-turn on the changes to inheritance tax relief, which will be debated by MPs in the House of Commons on Monday after a petition urging the Government to rethink the policy gained over 147,000 signatures.

Over 50 food manufacturing businesses also joined the NFU in urging Rachel Reeves to reconsider the tax raid last week.

A letter signed by Yeo Valley, Arla, Müller and others described the proposal as an "awful family farm tax" that has "united farming and the whole of the supply chain like never before".

"How loud does the chorus of concern around the policy have to be for the Treasury to listen and take action?" NFU President Tom Bradshaw asked.

"Scrapping critical inheritance tax reliefs not only affects family-run farms, but it stands to have far-reaching consequences for the whole industry, from food processors to supermarket retailers," he added. "Is this the vision for economic growth the country was promised?"

Environment Secretary Steve Reed apologised to farmers over decisions the Treasury "had to take" to fix the country's finances in an address at the Oxford Farming Conference in January - as tractors lined the streets outside and honked their horns during his speech.

He said he understood that factors including rising input costs, worker shortages and post-Brexit trade had made the last few years "incredibly tough" for farmers - but added that new tax measures were vital to form a "foundation of economic growth".

A Government spokesperson said: "Our commitment to farmers remains steadfast. This Government will invest £5 billion into farming over the next two years, the largest budget for sustainable food production in our country's history.

"We are going further with reforms to boost profits for farmers by backing British produce and reforming planning rules on farms to support food production.

"Our reform to Agricultural and Business Property Relief will mean estates will pay a reduced effective inheritance tax rate of 20%, rather than standard 40%, and payments can be spread over 10 years, interest-free.

"This is a fair and balanced approach, which fixes the public services we all rely on, affecting around 500 estates a year."