Approximately 300 tractors and accompanying farmers filled the streets in Ballymena to protest against changes to tax rules.

The protest yesterday afternoon (Saturday, January 25) was one of seven similar events hosted by the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) at market towns across Northern Ireland.

The mass mobilisation of farmers had been organised to highlight farmers’ anger at the recent decision by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, to include farm land within the remit of the UK’s inheritance tax measures.

Prior to protests (January 24), representatives of the UK’s four main farming unions handed in a petition signed by more than 270,000 members of the public to 10 Downing Street.

The document called for the Chancellor to ditch its proposed changes to inheritance tax rules.

Former union president, Victor Chestnutt, addressed the large crowd of farmers that had gathered at Ballymena Mart, prior to the protest getting under way.

He said that: “Rachel from accounts had gotten her sums wrong,” where the introduction of the new tax is concerned.

He added that all the UK farming unions would campaign "vigorously" until the decision to introduce the new inheritance tax measures had been reversed.

“If the new inheritance measures are not reversed the impact on farming will be devastating," Chestnutt said.

“Farmers will always want to pay their taxes. But these new inheritance measures are totally self defeating.

“The end result will be a significant down scaling of agriculture across the UK.

“The Chancellor must reverse the decision that was taken last October," Chestnutt added.

Westminster MP, Jim Allister, also attended the Ballymena protest. He referred to the new inheritance tax measures as a “death tax.”

He said that he supports the campaign now underway to have last October’s decision by the Chancellor fully reversed.

However, he said he believes that the end point will be a “fudge” which sees Rachel Reeves retaining the principle of the new tax measures but, at the same time, upping the eligibility thresholds.

"It was marvellous to see the huge turnouts at today's Farmers' Protest over the government's punitive death tax on family farms," Allister said.

"I attended the Ballymena protest in which over 300 tractors took part. It was great to see the determination among farmers to keep the pressure on the government over this vital issue.

"I will continue the fight on their behalf despite the size of the government's majority, believing that in the end this ruinous policy is unsustainable," he added.

He said that the government must be pressurised until a retreat from "burying family farms" is made, and described the taxes as "greedy".