Labour faces fresh fury over 'cruel' inheritance tax raid on farmers

Labour is facing fresh fury over its "cruel" inheritance tax raid on farmers after new polling found the majority fear for the survival of their business. The survey by the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) found that 78% are worried their farm will not make it through the next decade.

When asked who they would vote for at a general election, 0% said Labour in a damning indictment of the controversial policy to slap a tax bill on farms worth over £1 million. In the poll of 494 farmers, some 61% said they had considered selling up and quitting the industry.

Meanwhile, 69% said they will have to sell land or take out loans to keep the business going.

Around 90% have paused or delayed investment since the inheritance tax announcement in the autumn budget.

Some 38% said they would back the Tories at the next election, while 36% are behind Nigel Farage's Reform UK.

Shadow Environment Secretary Victoria Atkins hit out at the "cruel family farm tax".

The Conservative MP said: "Rural communities have concluded that Labour doesn't care about them or the future of our countryside. Rural folk keep asking me why Labour has got it in for them.

"From the cruel family farm tax and the shock cancellation of farm payment schemes to the scrapping of the rural services grant and their record tax hikes, Labour have put our farmers at risk, with no care for the consequences.

"This matters to us all because fewer British farms risks food security and even higher food prices.

"The Conservatives will always back our rural communities. We will axe the family farm tax and create a bright future for British farming. We want our countryside and coast to thrive."

Labour sparked an intense backlash over restricting the current 100% inheritance tax relief for farms to the first £1 million of combined agricultural and business property last October.

Victoria Vyvyan, president of the CLA, which represents 28,000 farmers and rural businesses across England and Wales, told The Times: "The Treasury says these reforms will barely touch rural Britain.

"Our polling shows they will force hard choices on farms that have sustained communities for generations - selling their land, laying people off, shelving plans for the future.

"Already families are weighing up which parts of their business they can afford to keep. Some are holding back investment, others are wondering if they can hand the farm on at all.

"Rural Labour MPs can see what's coming. They know it will drain the life from the countryside and strip away the trust of the people who sent them to Westminster. If they support it, their voters won't forget."

Campaigners have warned that the proposals could spell the end of Britain's family farm.

There have also been reports of desperate farmers pushed to the brink of suicide.

And critics have raised fears over the impact on UK food security if more family farms - which already struggle with challenges such as extreme weather and climate change - are forced to close.

The tax break had allowed farms, which are often asset-rich but cash-poor, to be handed down through generations without incurring a bill.

The average return on capital for farms is less than 1%, according to the National Farmers Union (NFU).

The inheritance tax changes, which have prompted a series of major protests in London, are due to come into force next April.

The Government was urged to delay the reforms and consider alternative options by an influential group of cross-party MPs earlier this year.

A report by the Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee said the changes were made without "adequate consultation, impact assessment or affordability assessment".

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has defended plans to proceed with the tax changes despite the backlash.

The Daily Express has been campaigning for a U-turn on the inheritance tax raid with our Save Britain's Family Farms crusades.

A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokeswoman said: "Our commitment to farming is steadfast and farming profits in the UK increased by £1.6 billion last year.

"We have allocated a record £11.8 billion to sustainable farming over this parliament and appointed former NFU president Baroness Minette Batters to recommend further reforms to boost farmers' profits.

"Most estates claiming agricultural and business property reliefs will be unaffected by the changes.

"The latest data shows that 40% of agricultural property relief - worth £219 million - was directed to just 117 estates. The money raised will go towards public services we all rely on every day instead."