More than £16,000 has poured into a GoFundMe appeal within 24 hours after a fundraiser was launched to help farmers whose tractors were seized during the Budget Day protest in London — despite protesters insisting they had followed police instructions throughout.
In the online appeal, Lincolnshire farmer Taron Lee says Metropolitan Police officers told farmers attending Wednesday’s autumn budget demonstration that they were permitted to park their tractors.
He insists they cooperated fully, followed instructions and behaved peacefully while standing up for their livelihoods, only to have their machinery confiscated afterwards and several individuals arrested. According to him, the treatment of those involved has caused outrage across the farming community.
In his appeal, Lee described the actions taken against farmers as “an absolute disgrace”, arguing that a tractor is not a symbol or a prop but the essential tool of a working farmer.
Removing one, he says, has the same effect as taking a builder’s tools or a lorry driver’s truck — it immediately stops that person from working, earning and sustaining their business. For rural communities already under strain, he says, the consequences are devastating.
Lee stresses that farming is a community built on solidarity, where the difficulties faced by one farmer are felt by many others. His fundraiser aims to cover the costs of recovering the seized tractors so those affected can return to work and continue feeding the nation.
He has since updated the appeal, saying: “We’ve identified the owner of the fendt tractor and all donations are warmly welcomed. This really dose show when one of us is hit we’re all hit.”
He says the response so far — with donations reaching five figures within a day — shows how strongly the public feels about fairness, food security and the pressures facing British agriculture.
Lee adds that every contribution “helps lighten the load”, urging supporters to donate or share the appeal. As he puts it: “We stand together. We look after our own.”
