North West Essex MP joins calls against family farm tax

More than 10,000 people descended on Whitehall to protest the government policy, which will see changes to inheritance tax on agricultural assets.

Under the proposed policy, inheritance tax relief on farms will be capped at £1 million.

Many farmers have expressed concerns that this could lead to forced land sales, undermine the sustainability of family farms and exacerbate labour shortages.

Kemi Badenoch meeting with North West Essex farmers (Image: Office of Kemi Badenoch MP) Data from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) indicates that only 34 per cent of farms in the UK have a net worth below £1 million, meaning the majority will be impacted by the policy. 

Mrs Badenoch addressed the crowd at the rally, pledging that the Conservatives would reverse the tax "at the first opportunity".

Following the rally, farmers from North West Essex met with Mrs Badenoch to share how the changes will impact them.

Mrs Badenoch said: "Local farmers across North West Essex are worried and angry at Labour’s Family Farm Tax.

"Young farmers are telling me the farms they will inherit, that have been in their family for generations, may no longer be viable.

"We must continue to support them to fight against this cruel tax and get it reversed."

Sam Goddard, chair of the Saffron Walden branch of the National Farmers Union (NFU), said: "I would like to thank Kemi for meeting with farmers from across her constituency, especially following on from her speech to the rally in Whitehall.

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"Kemi's work to stop the family farm tax is very welcome and her continuing engagement with farmers is valuable as we tackle other crucial issues leading to the ever-increasing costs of food production."

The government has explained that the changes were made to better target the reliefs to make them fairer - protecting small family farms.

A statement on the government website explains: "It is not fair for a very small number of claimants each year to claim such a significant amount of relief, when this money could better be used to fund our public services."