MP warns of farmers’ inheritance tax change fears

Stuart Andrew, MP for Daventry, said the tax changes would affect the next generation of farmers

One of a county's MPs has said farmers are worried for their livelihoods because of the proposed changes to inheritance tax on farms.

Stuart Andrew, the Conservative MP for Daventry, in Northamptonshire, said some farmers in his constituency were "actively looking to sell off land" because they believed the new tax rules threatened the viability of family farms.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced during her Budget speech that inheritance tax would apply to agricultural assets worth more than £1m from April 2026.

The government said the change was only expected to affect about 2,000 estates each year and its commitment to farmers "remains steadfast".

'Next generation gone'

Opposition MPs have called on the government to reverse the proposed change, saying it will devastate many family-run farms.

Previously, agricultural property tax relief allowed family farms, including land, buildings, and housing, to pass between generations tax-free.

Speaking in the Commons, Andrew said if farmers in Daventry were forced out of the industry "that's the next generation [of farmers] gone, and that's food that supplies patients in the NHS gone".

Following Wednesday's Budget announcement, the government said it would be maintaining the current £2.4bn level of farm payments for England in 2025/26.

The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, Daniel Zeichner, the MP for Cambridge, said: “Our commitment to farmers and the vital role they play to feed our nation remains steadfast."

Andrew has been made shadow secretary of state for culture, media and sport in new Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch's shadow cabinet.