Starmer urged to ‘change course’ on farmers’ inheritance tax plans

Sir Keir Starmer should “change course” on the Government’s alterations to inheritance tax affecting family farms, opposition MPs have said.

The Commons also heard on Wednesday that some farmers considered the Labour Government “duplicitous”, as tractor drivers lined streets near the Palace of Westminster to protest against the measures.

From April 2026, farmers will pay 20% inheritance tax on agricultural property and land after the first £1 million-worth when they previously paid none, as part of plans announced in this year’s budget.

Tradition

At Prime Minister’s Questions, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: “British farmers are the best in the world. They are the best in the world because of our tradition of family farms, where from generation to generation a commitment to high-quality food, to our precious environment and animal welfare is passed down.

“But family farms were let down badly by the last Conservative government, with the botched transition to new payment schemes, and their unfair trade deals with Australia and New Zealand that have undercut British farmers.

“Now many family farms feel the Government’s budget will be the final blow. So will the Prime Minister change course and recognise the vital role that British family farms play?”

“Duplicitous”

Norfolk MP Jerome Mayhew later said from the Conservative benches: “’Losing a farm is not like losing any other business. It can’t come back’.

“Now, those are the words of the Prime Minister, that is what he said to the NFU (National Farmers’ Union) in order to get their votes, so can the Prime Minister understand why farmers in Broadland and Fakenham and around the country now think that his administration is duplicitous?”

Sir Keir claimed that the Government had spent “last week alone, £350 million to support farmers across the United Kingdom” in his reply to Sir Ed.

He said it “does contrast with the last government” who he said underspent by £350 million in relation to farmers.

Majority “unaffected”

Responding to Mr Mayhew, the Prime Minister told MPs: “I think everybody welcomes the £5 billion over the next two years that we’ve put in the budget – well, they shake their heads, I’m afraid they do.”

He added: “On the threshold, as he well knows, in an ordinary family case, the threshold is £3 million and that means the vast majority of farmers will be unaffected.”

Farmers lined Whitehall and Parliament Square in their tractors on Wednesday, during Prime Minister’s Questions, with some using their vehicle horns to play a series of melodies including Baby Shark and Old MacDonald Had A Farm.