𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Rachel Reeves has been urged to back farmers clobbered by her inheritance tax changes after new figures showed incomes have plummeted. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called for a new fund “to help farmers on the brink”.

He spoke out after an analysis of figures from the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs found that average livestock farming incomes fell by 20% in 2023-24, down from £491,600 to £391,100. The figures are partly a result of rising costs and tighter profit margins, with the price farmers are paid for milk falling.

In advance of their party conference in Bournemouth next month, Liberal Democrats are urging the government to set up a new Farming Innovation, Exchange, Learning and Development (FIELD) Fund to help farmers share know-how, navigate environmental farming schemes and improve their business viability. They say the find would support the next generation of farmers by passing on tips and tricks from the older generation and building a trusted network to support farmers throughout their career.

Lib Dems are also stepping up calls for the Government to scrap the planned Family Farm Tax, and to increase the farming budget by £1b billion a year to help support farms on the brink.

Sir Ed said: “British farmers who put food on our tables and look after our countryside are being squeezed from all sides.

“These communities are the backbone of our rural economy. In an ever more dangerous world to push so many of them to the wall threatens our national interests and food security.”

Ms Reeves has announced plans to cap tax reliefs which allow estates to significantly reduce the amount of inheritance tax paid on agricultural or business property.

It means hundreds of estates will pay more tax once the measure comes into force in 2026, raising £500 million annually for the Treasury. The National Farmers Union (NFU) has warned the measure threatens working family farms and will have “devastating and irreversible impacts”.

NFU President Tom Bradshaw will be attending the Labour Party Conference this year, with other senior figures attending Conservative, Reform and Liberal Democrat conferences.