'A spiteful attack': farmers warn of village life erosion

Farmers say Labour’s shock changes to inheritance tax rules will lead to the destruction” of village life and accused politicians of failing to understand the countryside, as dozens joined a first protest against the measure.

- ALEX ROSS

Under Rachel Reeves’s Budget announcement last week, farmers will be charged 20 per cent on agricultural assets above £1m from April 2026. The move has met with a storm of fury in the farming industry, with fears it will mostly impact family-run farms where owners could have to sell land to pay the levy on a bereavement.

Yesterday, dozens of farmers joined the first protest since the policy was announced at the Northern Farming Conference in Northumberland, attended by environment minister Daniel Zeichner, while NFU president Tom Bradshaw has warned of “militant action” ahead of a rally being organised for 19 November.

At Frome Livestock Market in Somerset, farmers voiced their anger over the “tractor tax”, with many claiming the government had overlooked the consequences.

“It’ll lead to the destruction of village life as we know it,” said Rupert Cox, a 63-year-old farmer with 200 acres of land near Langport in Somerset.

“Family farmers have civic pride in their villages and communities where they are; they will help out at the church fete by supplying straw bales for the skittles, they will give a hand to an elderly person needing a lift or something moving such contributions to local village life are underestimated and overlooked.

“You also have the local spend. Yes, the tractor may come from further afield, but the local farmer will spend money in the local shop, send the car to the garage. If big businesses take over land, it changes things – their number one priority is profit, and they are limited companies with dividends to serve.”