Keir Starmer defends Labour’s tax changes on farms after furious backlash

Sir Keir Starmer has defended Labour’s tax raid on family farms while insisting he wants to support the nation’s food producers.

The Prime Minister was asked whether he wanted to urge farmers to halt their plans for militant action in response to Rachel Reeves’ inheritance tax changes at last month’s budget.

He said: “I want to support farmers. I think it’s really important. That’s why we put £5 billion over the next two years in the budget into farming.

“That’s the single biggest investment in farming I think ever. That’s how seriously we take it. Obviously we had to take difficult decisions in the budget because of the blackhole and the circumstances that we inherited.

“The vast majority of farmers will be unaffected by the changes in the budget not least because if there’s a married couple the relief is £3 million and that’s why the vast majority of farmers will not be affected at all.

“They will be affected by the £5 million put into the budget on this. It’s very important that we support our farmers. I’ve said that before and I’ll say it again.”

Ministers have been warned farmers could blockade ports or cause food shortages by refusing to supply their produce if the government doesn’t listen to their calls to rethink the announcement.

Tractor go-slows and a strike on spreading sewage sludge on their land are also being considered by some “hardcore groups”, according to Clive Bailye, the founder of The Farming Forum, which he described as the “Mumsnet for farmers”.

The Daily Express’s Save Britain’s Family Farms crusade has demanded Ms Reeves reverse the move, which will see farms worth more than £1million saddled with a 20% inheritance tax bill.

The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has planned a “mass lobby” event on 19 November for its members to petition MPs to overturn changes in th

NFU President Tom Bradshaw said: “Since the Budget, I’ve heard about distressed elderly parents who are having to apologise to their children in tears for something that isn’t their fault, telling them they’re sorry because they feel they’re now a burden on the family.

“I’ve heard from families who can’t see any way they can plan for a future which doesn’t result in losing their business. Men and women who’ve spent years building up farm businesses now wondering what’s the point in carrying on when it’s going to be ripped apart.

“The feelings of anger, betrayal and despair are palpable. There is already a mental health crisis in the farming community. In 2021, a survey by farming charity RABI showed that over a third of the farming community had experienced depression and around half had experienced anxiety. And now this family farm tax is exacerbating this crisis.

“The vast majority of the people who’ll bear the brunt of this family farm tax aren’t wealthy people with huge cash reserves hidden away. They are families that have often spent generations building up their farm businesses to provide food for the nation, often on very tight profit margins.”

Farming minister Daniel Zeichner accused farmers of overstating the impact of the planned cuts to agricultural property relief.

But Mo Metcalf-Fisher, director of external affairs at the Countryside Alliance said: “Implying some are overreacting is incredibly insensitive and demonstrates a worrying disconnect between Whitehall and the countryside.

“Even the treasury estimates some 500 farms will be affected by changes to inheritance tax every year. If a family farm is passed on every 40 years that would mean 20,000 farms get hit.

“That is not a small number and the Government need to understand that and reconsider this policy as quickly as possible”.