British farmers plan London protest

British farmers plan to drive their tractors to central London next week in protest against UK food policy, including unfair supermarket pricing and substandard food imports.

Campaign group Save British Farming (SBF) is joining forces with the Kent-based Farmers for Fairness for a tractor rally in central London on Monday 25 March.

At least 50 tractors are expected to drive near the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, Save British Farming said.

Liz Webster, founder of Save British Farming, who farms in Wiltshire, told Farmers Weekly the main aims of the rally:

* To lobby the government to ditch trade deals with Australia and New Zealand which are “a bad deal for British farming and farmers”

* To pressure the House of Parliament to introduce legislation to ensure that supermarkets can no longer have contracts that pay producers below the cost of production

* To demand the government deliver a food plan to protect and bolster domestic food security.

Webster said: “I believe that most farmers in Britain share these goals and I would encourage farmers who have had enough of being taken for granted to get on their tractor and join us.”

Save British Farming has also launched an online petition urging political action to protect British farmers and food standards, Farmers Weekly said.

Meanwhile, Fairness for Farmers is campaigning for three aims: more protection for British farmers against substandard food imports, more honest food labelling and greater food security.

Fairness for Farmers has staged several protests in Kent over the last few weeks, the latest of which saw 240 tractors rally in Canterbury on Sunday 3 March.