Fresh tractor tax blow for Labour as poll suggests massive loss of rural seats

Labour could lose three-quarters of its rural seats if a general election was held today, a new poll has suggested, just months after the party swept to power in a landslide election win fuelled by gains in the countryside.

- ARCHIE MITCHELL and JABED AHMED

Sir Keir Starmer’s controversial tractor tax and other policies in Rachel Reeves’ October Budget could see the party hold onto just one in four of the seats Labour won in rural areas in July, according to a new survey. Of the 10 sparse and rural constituencies currently held by Labour, the party might keep just two if an election were called now, a More in Common survey found.

Although it is just one survey and there are likely years before the country goes to the polls again, the National Farmers Union (NFU) warned it suggested Sir Keir had “gravely underestimated the impact” of its family farm tax raid.

The poll also suggested Labour might hold onto just 11 of the 39 rural seats it holds. Overall, of Labour’s 49 rural constituencies, it was suggested the party could lose 36 and hold on to just 13 – a retention rate of just 27 per cent.

The NFU’s warning comes after the UK’s top union leader, TUC boss Paul Nowak, revealed his fears about the impact of the tax raid on small farmers in an interview with The Independent. The survey highlights the impact on the party of Sir Keir’s decision to end inheritance tax exemptions for farms worth more than £1m.

The tax change means previously exempt farms will be hit with a 20 per cent levy on farming assets worth more than £1m, with critics claiming it will force family farmers to sell up and rip the heart out of Britain’s countryside.