𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Kemi Badenoch has accused Labour of “a full-blown assault on rural Britain” through their inheritance tax raid. The Tory leader told how her party is “fighting every day” to get them to U-turn on the announcement from July last year.

Mrs Badenoch, who attended the Royal Welsh Show on Monday, said: “Starmer promised no new taxes on working people. Then taxed farmers and small business owners, and all workers through employer National Insurance.

“He’s literally biting the hand that feeds him. Labour looked British farmers in the eye and said they wouldn’t raise taxes.

Then they introduced the Family Farm Tax – a direct hit on generational farming. By scrapping Agricultural Property Relief, Labour have hit over 75% of UK farms, punishing families for wanting to pass the land on to their children and keep farming alive in Britain for decades to come. It gets worse.”

The leader of the opposition went on to say that 208,500 jobs were at risk and £14.8billion would be lost because of the tax hike.

She branded it a “full-blown assault on rural Britain”, adding: “What are we doing about it? We’ve already got Labour to u-turn on Winter Fuel Payments and a Grooming Gangs Inquiry. We’re fighting every day to get them to u-turn on this, too.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said that from April 2026, combined agricultural and business property assets up to £1 million will still receive 100% relief but anything above that will be taxed at an effective rate of 20%.

Asset rich farmers who are cash poor fear they will have to sell off their land – making it unviable for food production – to foot the tax bill.

The Daily Express has campaigned for the Government to U-turn on its inheritance tax raid through the Save Britain’s Family Farms crusade.

When the Environment Secretary Steve Reed was grilled yesterday (MON) on whether the government would U-turn, he said: “This government has set the biggest budget in history for sustainable farming. It’s a comfort to farmers to now know that there is now more money in the hands of more farmers under the sustainable farming schemes than at any point under the previous government. This government is supporting farmers with more investment.”

When it was put to him that he broke a promise to farmers not to heap inheritance tax on them, he added: “We’re working with farmers to make their businesses more profitable because unprofitable businesses can’t attract investment and they can’t attract young people to come and work in the sector and they don’t have a future.

“I want to see farming have a bright future.”