Somerset MPs respond to family farm tax announcement

The original proposals, often referred to by farming groups as the “Family Farm Tax”, would have reduced full inheritance tax relief on agricultural and business assets above £1 million, raising concerns that many family-run farms would be forced to sell land or businesses to meet tax bills on succession.

The original policy received widespread backlash from farmers and rural communities, with tractors taking to the streets of London in protest.

Today (Tuesday, December 23), the government announced changes to its proposed reforms to Agricultural and Business Property Relief, increasing the inheritance tax threshold from £1 million to £2.5 million per person.

Rachael Gilmour, MP for Tiverton and Minehead, has welcomed the government's decision, describing the move as “important progress” following months of pressure from local farmers and rural businesses.

She said: “Punch-and-Judy politics doesn’t deliver - constructive opposition does. By listening to farmers and working constructively with organisations such as the NFU and the CLA, Liberal Democrats have helped press the Government to rethink a policy that caused real anxiety in the countryside.

"I want to thank all the farmers across the Tiverton and Minehead constituency who have shared their experiences with me over the course of the last year – together, we have brought about real change.”

However, she said that the increased threshold still isn't enough, and that she wants to see the inheritance tax scrapped altogether.

She added: “This is progress, but it does not go far enough. Liberal Democrats will continue to fight in the new year to see this unfair tax scrapped altogether so that family farms can plan for the future with confidence.”

Somerset MPs react to farm inheritance tax U-turn (Image: Sir Ashley Fox MP)

MP for Bridgwater and Burnham-on-Sea, Sir Ashley Fox, has also welcomed the change, but has criticised the Labour government for the amount of time taken to reverse the decision.

"I welcome today’s announcement by the government to raise the threshold for Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief. It is another Labour U-turn, and one that should not have taken this long to reach. Raising the threshold from £1 million to £2.5 million is a step in the right direction, but it should never have required this level of distress to get here.

"From the outset, Conservatives warned that this tax risked doing real damage to family farms, not just financially, but personally. Farmers, growers, and their families have lived for months under great uncertainty, and for some, the pressure has been unbearable. Labour cannot ignore the fact that this policy has had severe human consequences and caused immense distress to many people.

Liberal Democrat MP Tessa Munt has expressed her relief at the change, and says that she will do "all she can" to see the inheritance tax scrapped.

She said: “This tax was potentially devastating for family farms across the country.  As MP for Wells and Mendip Hills, I was proud to protest it alongside farmers from my ‘patch’.”

She then added: “My Lib Dem colleagues and I were the first to call out and oppose this bonkers tax in last year’s budget.  Since then, and alongside many others from the farming community, we have not stopped campaigning against it. 

"I will continue to do all I can, alongside my colleagues, to demand that the government scraps it altogether.”

 "This change is the result of sustained campaigning by Conservatives, farmers, the NFU, and voices from across Parliament who refused to stay silent. I pay tribute to the farmers who spoke out and to those who backed them."

James Wright with Exmoor Farmer Oliver Edwards at the November 2024 Westminster protest (Image: James Wright)

It's not just MPs who have welcomed the change. James Wright, an Exmoor Farmer and Conservative campaigner, has been actively involved in opposing the original plans. More than 250,000 people signed the petition he helped start, and he led protesters in London opposing the tax.

He described the announcement as “a partial victory” for farmers and rural businesses, adding that it was the result of sustained pressure rather than a voluntary change of policy.

“This didn’t happen by accident,” Wright said. “It followed months of campaigning by farmers, rural families and Conservatives, from petitions and council debates to votes and scrutiny in Parliament, which forced the Government to listen.” 

Wright said further changes were still needed to provide long-term certainty for family farms. “The test should be whether a farm or rural business remains productive and in active use,” he said. “No family should be forced to sell land or their business simply to pay the taxman.”