The new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has been in office for less than a day, and rural Britain has already presented him with a pressing issue. Farmers, landowners, and the wider countryside economy are demanding that he reverse the inheritance tax changes that have caused turmoil in British agriculture since 2024.
The pressure is on the new Prime Minister, a former Treasury minister, who now inherits the most contentious tax policy of the Labour era alongside the nation's chequebook. The row dates back to a change in tax policy made in 2024, which restricted agricultural property relief and business property relief, allowing farms and family firms to pass between generations without a tax bill forcing a sale.
After months of protests, the government made a concession just before Christmas, raising the threshold for 100 per cent relief from £1 million to £2.5 million per estate, allowing married couples to combine allowances to £5 million, and providing 50 per cent relief above that. However, many in the sector consider this a partial solution.
Farming groups, including the Country Land and Business Association, argue that the reforms could affect around 70,000 farms, and a group of farmers took the government to the High Court in March in a judicial review over the lack of formal consultation on the changes.
The campaign has gained fresh momentum due to Burnham's own words, made during his by-election campaign in Makerfield, where he said that he believed the issue needed to be re-examined. Farming groups intend to hold him to this promise.
CLA director north Harriet Ranson said, "To date, he has made several commitments to the farming and food sector, including pledging to revisit the growth-inhibiting inheritance tax on farms, as well as directing the public sector to procure food more locally." She added that it is her sincere hope that the Prime Minister will work with the sector to strengthen food production, nature recovery, and the valued skills of the rural communities.
The Treasury's perspective on the issue is that the prize is modest revenue, but the risk is a repeat of the scenes that defined the past 18 months, including tractors on Whitehall, farm-gate protests, and a rural economy that feels singled out.
For Burnham, the politics are finely balanced, as he has already signalled there is "room for movement" on tax, pledging business rates cuts for pubs and high street firms. Extending this flexibility to the countryside would delight a sector that spans everything from dairy farms to diversified visitor attractions.
