Harriet Cross MP has urged the UK Government to scrap its family farm tax after the Office for Budget Responsibility revealed Labour’s policy will leave elderly farmers hugely exposed, with no time to manage their way through the changes.
At Urgent Questions in Westminster, the Gordon and Buchan MP asked the Exchequer Secretary if he “still believes” Labour’s policy should go ahead, warning that elderly farmers would be hit the hardest and rural communities would suffer the most.
In his response, James Murray MP said nothing had changed on the government’s view about enforcing the new tax on farmers.
It comes after the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) published a supplementary forecast on Wednesday detailing the cost of changes to agricultural property relief, stating it is “likely to be more difficult for some older individuals to quickly restructure their affairs in response to the measure”.
The OBR also warned it was “highly uncertain” whether the measures would raise the £500m the Treasury claims it would raise.
The watchdog said the yield from the inheritance tax changes was not likely to reach a steady state for “at least 20 years”.
Tesco, Aldi, Lidl and the Co-op have now joined Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Asda in backing calls for Labour to pause its plans and hold a consultation on how best to raise revenue while minimising the impact on farmers.
Scottish Conservative MP for Gordon and Buchan, Harriet Cross, said:
“This damning report from the OBR shows the Labour government has not fully costed the impact of the family farm tax on the economy.
“Labour’s shameful raid on farmers is unravelling more and more as the weeks go on, with every major UK supermarket chain now on board for the fight against Keir Starmer’s damaging Family Farm Tax proposals.
“The UK Government assured everyone that the OBR had certified their financial claims, but doubts have now been cast from the OBR over how much money will actually be raised from this.
“At the immediate heart of this is our elderly farmers, who want, and had always planned, to keep their farms until death to pass them on to the next generation.
“Instead, they are now left knowing that if they live beyond April 2026 when the measures come in, their children may have to break up or sell the farm to pay the inheritance tax bill.
“Keir Starmer must start to listen to the independent advice and the voices across the industry.
“He must urgently recognise the devastating consequences of this policy and reverse his proposals to safeguard both farming and the nation’s food security before it’s too late.”
In his response to Ms Cross’ question, Exchequer Secretary James Murray MP dismissed the concerns, saying: “The degree of uncertainty published yesterday is exactly the same as what the OBR said at the time of the budget.”
All four UK farming unions – NFU Scotland, NFU, NFU Cymru and Ulster Farmers’ Union – will participate in a nationwide day of action on Saturday to highlight the damage that the Labour government’s proposed changes to inheritance tax will do to farms.
