Andy Burnham urged to U-turn on hated farm inheritance tax raid in Budget

Andy Burnham urged to U-turn on hated farm inheritance tax raid in Budget The Prime Minister is facing calls to fully axe the inheritance tax raid on farmers Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Bookmark Add us as preferred source Comments By Katie Harris , Senior Political Correspondent 19:00, Sun, Oct 18, 2026 Andy Burnham is under pressure from farmers over the inheritance tax raid (Image: Getty) Farmers have made a last-ditch plea to Andy Burnham to U-turn on the inheritance tax raid in the budget. They warn that the controversial policy brought in under Sir Keir Starmer threatens family farms across the country. And they are calling on the Prime Minister to fully axe it after the threshold was raised to £2.5 million in a partial climbdown. Sandy Wade-Gery, 76, whose Bedfordshire farm has been in the family since 1536, said: "My son William is the fifteenth William at Bushmead. Unless the new inheritance tax on family farms is abolished, I fear he will be the last." Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT He went on: "This tax threatens to break up what generations have patiently woven together. A family farm is not cash in the bank. It is land, buildings and decades of investment earning a modest return, and after recent years of extreme weather many of us are struggling simply to break even. "When a tax bill falls due on a death, the only way to pay it is to sell land. Sell enough and the farm is no longer viable. Then the rest goes too. Get personal finance news, money saving tips and advice plus selcted offers and competitions I would like to receive emails from the Daily Express featuring our latest products, services, offers, and promotions from across the Reach Plc family . Subscribe Invalid email You agree you are 18 or over. We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. You can unsubscribe at any time. More Info . "And with the land goes something that can never be bought back: generations of skill and knowledge of particular fields, soils and seasons, handed down from parent to child." Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT Andy Burnham issued huge demand over Labour's hated farm inheritance tax raid Farmer Sandy Wade-Gery and his son William (Image: DX) Mr Wade-Gery said of his farm which has been in the family for almost 500 years: "I don't really want this all to be lost on my watch, I just don't want to lose what we've built up over the years and I can't really see any way round it." Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT Former chancellor Rachel Reeves used her 2024 budget to announce that farms, which were previously exempt from inheritance tax, would face a 20% rate above a £1 million threshold amid a black hole in the public finances. A furious backlash led to the threshold being raised to £2.5 million - or £5 million for married couples - last December. But there is speculation that further changes could be announced in next week's budget as Mr Burnham looks to mend ties with farmers. Farmer and BBC star Gareth Wyn Jones, 59, from North Wales, said: "With so many ongoing problems in the agricultural sector I think the least this Government could do would be to scrap the whole inheritance tax for every single family farm. "If they want food security and less food inflation they need to get behind British agriculture and start to show that they are backing us as much as we are feeding them. "Let's hope they see sense and start to look at abolishing this whole ludicrous inheritance tax scheme." The inheritance tax changes have sparked an ongoing backlash from farmers (Image: Getty) Arable farmer and YouTuber Olly Harrison, 45, from Merseyside, said: "At the moment farmers have had a real kicking from the weather and from previous budgets. "It would be nice to see some change on inheritance tax, hopefully completely scrapped, to make agriculture investable again. "It's just stalled the whole industry, no one has wanted to invest, it really dampened the mood, then we've had two horrendous harvests since. "The Reeves budget in 2024 did start the death of the family farm and it desperately needs some life support and hopefully the next budget will deliver that." Third-generation farmer Martin Williams, 61, from Herefordshire, added that Mr Burnham has "one chance to put things right". He said of the inheritance tax raid: "It's such a devastating confidence blow that it sits like a cloud over the whole of farming." Tory frontbencher Victoria Atkins is demanding a full U-turn (Image: Getty) The Tories and Reform UK have both vowed to reverse the changes if they win the next general election. Shadow Environment Secretary Victoria Atkins said: "Farming families will neither forgive nor forget the stress they have endured. "But scrapping these taxes would give them certainty for the future of their farms, and lift one burden as they recover from the worst harvest on record while facing higher fuel prices, the jobs tax and the fertiliser tax." Reform's Robert Jenrick added: “This vindictive tax has been a disaster and even cost lives. Rachel Reeves’s terrible legacy must be consigned to the dustbin of history.” Farms tend to be asset-rich due to the value of land and machinery, but are often cash-poor. Mo Metcalf-Fisher, director of external affairs at the Countryside Alliance, said: "The family farm tax continues to put too many farmers through unnecessary stress and anxiety. Scrapping it in its entirety would be the right thing to do." NFU President Tom Bradshaw added: “We’ve been clear that we oppose the changes to inheritance tax on farming, which treat business assets as personal wealth. "While we welcomed the concessions that have been made, some family farms still face substantial tax bills. "This is stifling investment and could break up food producing businesses at a time of global instability and climate pressures." Speaking in June before he entered 10 Downing Street, Mr Burnham suggested he would look again at the inheritance tax raid on family farms. Former Labour minister Lord Blunkett, a mentor to Mr Burnham, last month declared that it was a "mistake", while Labour MP Markus Campbell-Savours has called for it to be to be completely ditched. The Daily Express is demanding a full U-turn with our Save Britain's Family Farm crusade. A government spokesperson said: “We value our hardworking farmers and recognise the pressures they are under. We listened to farmers and raised the relief threshold to £2.5 million to protect smaller family farms and businesses, while ensuring the largest estates make a fair contribution.” Comment by shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins Nearly two years ago, Labour broke its election promise to rural communities and made family farms and family businesses its first target, introducing the family farm and family business taxes to fund benefits for others. It was the start of a pernicious attack on the rural way of life. Tens of thousands left the countryside to protest outside No10 against these death taxes, which threatened farms and businesses that had survived for generations. Alongside Express readers, the Conservatives stood with farmers. We protested, proved Labour’s costings wrong, shared the heartbreaking stories of affected families, and forced vote after vote in the Commons. Our collective effort produced one of the most humiliating u-turns of Keir Starmer’s leadership. Labour slipped it out the day before Christmas Eve, hoping nobody would notice, and raised the threshold. Farmers and the Conservatives noticed, and made clear it did not go nearly far enough. Since then, more than nine in ten farmers have halted investment, and 87% say their profits have been significantly hit. The government is already presiding over record farm closures. Last week, the Conservatives forced the eighth vote on these taxes. Labour MPs again failed the countryside by voting to keep them. But with the Budget less than ten days away, there is still time for the new Prime Minister to deliver on his promise to “build back trust” with farming communities. Number 10 insiders suggest the tax could be abolished or watered down. If true, it would be a huge admission that the government got this policy wrong. Farming families will neither forgive nor forget the stress they have endured. But scrapping these taxes would give them certainty for the future of their farms, and lift one burden as they recover from the worst harvest on record while facing higher fuel prices, the jobs tax and the fertiliser tax. This matters to us all. In an increasingly dangerous world, we need farmers to grow the food we eat, not sell up. Enough is enough. Andy Burnham must axe these vindictive taxes in their entirety. If he doesn’t, the Conservatives will scrap them when we return to government. Inheritance tax Andy Burnham Save Britain's Family Farms Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Bookmark Add us as preferred source Comments