Saints legend backs farmer protest as tractors lined up at St Mary's

Yahoo

27-01-2025

Saints legend Matt Le Tissier backed a farmers' protest at St Mary's Stadium on Saturday ahead of the Premier League game against Newcastle.
Around 14 tractors were lined up outside the stadium before the 3pm kick-off, as they rallied against Labour's inheritance tax changes.
Le Tissier was spotted backing the Farmers for Action protest in a video posted on their Instagram account.
In the video, the Saints legend said: 'I'm pretty disgusted in the way the government are treating farmers, there seems to be a real attack on them without realising that these people are what makes our food go round. No farmers no food, it's not a catch phrase.
'We don't want to be reliant on the plastic food that people are trying to flog us in supermarkets and I think it's about time farmers actually got paid a fair price for what they produce.'
READ MORE:
One sign on a tractor said: "RIP farmers, abolish the death tax."
The farmers congregated along Bitterne Manor at about 11am, then peacefully protested outside St Mary's before dispersing shortly after arriving at 12.30pm.
A reader said: "Lots of residents came out in support along the road. Looks like they met up with more tractors in the industrial estate before heading to St Mary's Stadium up the road."
READ MORE:
Daily Echo Camera Club member 'Definitelyblurredphotography' pictured the ten-plus tractors parked in the industrial estate next to the stadium.
Farmers rallied outside St Mary's Stadium. (Image: Alfie House) In a video on X, protest organisers Farmers for Action said: "These are our British farmers.
"Farmers for Action – football fans outside Southampton Football Club, everyone standing together.
"Let's have a fair price for farmers and a fair price for all. Scrap the IHT. It's time the government listened."
Police were present throughout the demonstration.
Farmers gathered at protests across the UK as their campaign against the Government's inheritance tax reforms steps up.
The National Farmers Union (NFU) staged a series of events as part of a so-called National Day of Unity, with farmers bringing food, tractors and livestock to town centres across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.