Rural MPs vow to continue to fight for farmers as controversial bill proceeds through parliament

Rural MPs in Devon have vowed to continue to campaign against the introduction of the so-called family farm tax as a controversial bill proceeded through parliament this week.

The second reading of the Finance Bill, which contains legislation to bring in the tax, was passed by 334 votes to 194 in parliament on Tuesday.
Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs in Devon claim it could spell the end for many generational small farms in the county and have called for a government U-turn.
Under the government’s plans, a tax of 20 per cent will be introduced to agricultural assets over £1 million from April 2026 as it makes changes to agricultural property relief inheritance tax rules. The bill still has several stages to go through before it is approved and becomes law.
The Liberal Democrats fear that farmers with high-value land but low incomes will not have the cash reserves to pay a large inheritance tax bill, forcing them to sell their farms, potentially to large corporations.
They voted against the bill along with the Conservatives who said: “Despite Labour previously promising to protect farmers, under government proposals more than 75 per cent of farms across the country will be hit by new inheritance tax laws.
 “They will be devastating for family farms and pose a serious risk to domestic food security and food prices. Labour and Keir Starmer do not have a plan to get a grip on the public finances, and are now punishing farmers because of their failures.” 
South West Devon Conservative MP Rebecca Smith said Conservatives across the United Kingdom would continue to campaign to get Labour to scrap the family farm and business tax that “will damage British farming and family businesses”.
“I joined fellow Conservative MPs to stop the tax and protect hundreds of thousands of farmers, their families and communities like in South West Devon,” she said.
“Labour must u-turn so the hard-working farmers in South West Devon and around the country can continue to produce the food we eat three times a day.
“I am sure people here and across the country will never forgive them if they destroy the farming industry as this tax will ultimately do,” she added.
Liberal Democrat MP for North Devon Ian Roome, who also voted against the tax as part of the Finance Bill, said: “Here in North Devon this is a huge issue, and policies like this risk pushing farms that have been in families for generations towards closing the gates for good.
“On budget day I stood alongside farmers from North Devon and across the country as they protested again, and I’ll keep fighting for the local farms and families who are likely to be hit.”
Both the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives put forward amendments to the current Finance Bill to challenge the government’s controversial changes but the amendments were lost.
Devon County Council cabinet member for rural affairs Cheryl Cottle-Hunkin (Lib Dem Torrington Rural) said she and her colleagues had spent more than a year lobbying, protesting and explaining the devastating impact this family farm tax will have on rural Britain, especially here in Devon, where farming is the backbone of our communities.
“I wanted to believe the government didn’t understand. Yet, as time goes on, it is clear that Keir Starmer and his ministers do understand and have chosen to ignore us anyway. They were asked repeatedly to pause and rework this policy. They were offered alternatives that would raise revenue, stop land being used as a tax shelter by the wealthy, and protect genuine working farms. All of it was dismissed.
“Keir Starmer’s response this week to Alistair Carmichael MP, chair of the EFRA Select Committee, when challenged on the distress being caused – particularly to elderly and terminally ill farmers with no time to plan before April 2026 – was inhuman and infuriating.
“This decision will destroy family farms and break rural communities. The government must, and can, still change course, rethink this policy, and do the right thing, before irreversible damage is done.”
The government argues the changes make the tax system fairer by ensuring that the wealthiest estates contribute more to public finances.
It says the current uncapped Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) allows multi-millionaires and billionaires to invest in farmland as a tax shelter, effectively avoiding significant inheritance tax liabilities.
It plans to use revenue raised from the tax to fund essential public services.