Proposed inheritance tax reforms, which farmers throughout the UK claim might drive many families out of farming, are causing anxiety. Leading the campaign is the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), which thousands of people are getting ready to assemble in London to object to the government’s proposed policy possibly affecting family-run businesses. Farmers say that as tensions increase, the reforms could cause agricultural land to be sold to corporate purchasers, erasing generational farming practices.
What Are the Suggested Inheritance Tax Changes?
The government revealed proposals to change the Agricultural Property Relief (APR) on inheritance tax in the latest UK Budget. Beginning in April 2026, farms worth more than £1 million will pay 20%, a significant drop from the typical 40%. Although farmers contend this will disproportionately affect small family-run farms and force them to either sell or dramatically restructure, this shift targets the wealthiest landowners.
Why Do Farmers Fear Their Legacy Is Being Lost?
Many farmers, particularly those with family farms handed down through generations, have expressed great worry about the financial burden the new inheritance tax policy could have on them. Gloucestershire cattle farmer David Barton expressed concerns about the future of his 265-acre property, which has been in his family since 1913. Given his farm’s estimated value of £5 million, his son might have an inheritance tax liability of £800,000.
“This budget has just ripped the heart out of us because I know my son will not be able to pay the inheritance tax,” Barton added. Barton is considering giving his son the estate as he might lose the family farm and says he won’t be financially able to stop working, perhaps leaving him without future security.
How will the tax changes shape family farms going forward?
The suggested inheritance tax reforms create the frightening prospect that smaller, family-run farms could be compelled to sell their land to wealthy individuals or businesses to pay the tax bill. Barton worries that big companies may buy out family farms, aggregating land under the control of a small number of wealthy investors instead of passing it on within the family.
“My farm will eventually end with the folks they most likely wish to target. That is the fact; someone with a lot of money will purchase this land, Barton cautioned. He isn’t by himself in his worries. The same question is troubling many farmers: how can they save their property without compromising the legacy of many generations of work?
How Are Farmers Objecting to the Policy?
The NFU has planned a sizable demonstration in London to express its disapproval, likely to draw about 10,000 people. Prominent farmer Jeremy Clarkson, among others, is scheduled to speak to the crowds at Richmond Terrace, Whitehall, calling on the government to rethink the inheritance tax revisions.
“We are at a point where we have nothing to lose,” remarked Staffordshire farmer and protest co-organiser Clive Bailye. Although the event is scheduled to be peaceful, Bailye cautions that if farmers’ concerns go unaddressed, they could turn to more disruptive behaviour in the future.
NFU president Tom Bradshaw underlined that although the organisation firmly opposes the reforms, it does not support drastic methods, including food deprivation from shops, which some farmers have warned is a form of protest. The NFU’s strategy is to demand the government interact with farmers before implementing such radical reforms and to raise their views through democratic means.
Is the way the government defends the policy reasonable?
With an estimated 500 estates around the country perhaps subject to the higher inheritance tax rate, the government claims only the wealthiest estates would be impacted by the changes. The government also estimates that up to £3 million might be handed on free of inheritance tax due to several reliefs and exemptions.
“We absolutely understand that with any change comes some degree of uncertainty, but farmers need to look at the facts,” said Steve Reed, Secretary of State. “Only the wealthiest estates will be affected; the great majority of farms will remain unaltered by this.”
Notwithstanding these promises, the NFU and other agricultural organisations, like the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), feel that many more farms would be impacted than the government estimates. The NFU projects that the new legislation might cause serious financial problems for up to 70,000 farms.
What wider consequences for young farmers?
The policy changes also significantly affect the younger generation of farmers, many of whom intend to inherit family farms. Concerned about the long-term consequences for the next generation, Alaw Jones, a Royal Agricultural University student from the ninth generation of her family to farm in West Wales, expressed worries.
“All the work they have done to build the business and get this farm to stand on its own feels like it’s for nothing,” said Jones. Given the already common mental health problems among farmers, Jones worries that changes in inheritance tax would drive struggling farmers over the brink.
Other younger farmers, such as Rupert Dale, who assists in operating a hay farm on the Worcestershire/Shropshire border, also worry that the approach may drive their families to sell. “We would not be able to afford the sum needed to keep the farm going,” Dale remarked.
What political reactions to the policy are there?
Several political personalities have harshly criticised the suggested revisions. Victoria Atkins, the shadow environment minister for Labour, referred to the program as a “budget of broken promises” likely to “kill British farming.” She underlined the financial difficulty farmers, who are typically “asset-rich but cash-poor,” face.
“The government is punishing farmers who are not in it for the money; their motivation is duty and way of life. Atkins said, “It’s a 365-day responsibility; now they’re being hit with this.”
The Liberal Democrats have also labelled the government’s assessment as “utter garbage,” rejecting its assertions that just 500 estates will be impacted. Tim Farron, the party’s spokesman on rural affairs, food, and the environment, cautioned that the idea might lead to corporate concentration of farmed land. “So corporations buy—the only way people can pay the inheritance is by selling their farm. Farron remarked, “It’s cruel, unfair, and foolish.”
Future Directions for the Farm Community
The farming community is preparing for a decisive battle as the government advances with the amendments to inheritance tax. Together, farmers, students, and business leaders oppose the new policy and advocate that the government make family-run farms and the survival of rural Britain its top priority.
Many are optimistic that the march in London, just days away, will make their voices heard and the government will change its course. The demonstrations express resistance to the changes in the inheritance tax and a more general worry about the viability of small family farms under growing financial strains.
“This is one of the most urgent issues in the farming sector,” said Alexandra Godfrey, president of the Royal Agricultural University Students’ Union, “and we all need to unite to tell the government how we feel.” Not now, if not now, when?
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