The government has doubled down on insisting only a quarter of farms will be affected by inheritance tax plans as thousands of farmers get ready to protest on Tuesday.
After Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced 20% inheritance tax will apply to farms worth more than £1m from April 2026, where they were previously exempt, the policy has become the government’s biggest thorn in its side.
Thousands of farmers, including celebrity farmer Jeremy Clarkson, are due to descend on Whitehall on Tuesday to protest the change.
And 1,800 more will take part in a “mass lobby” where members of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) will meet their MPs in parliament to urge them to ask Ms Reeves to reconsider the policy.
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Ahead of the protest, Sir Keir Starmer said on Sunday, on the way to Brazil for the G20, that he is “absolutely confident the vast majority of farms and farmers will not be affected by this”.
His spokesman reiterated the prime minister’s, and other ministers’, comments on Monday as he said the government expects 73% of farms to not be affected by the change.
“We remain confident that the vast majority of farms won’t be affected by this,” he said.
Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs Secretary Steve Reed said only about 500 out of the UK’s 209,000 farms would be affected, according to Treasury calculations.
However, that number has been questioned by several farming groups and the Conservatives.
The NFU said the real number is about two-thirds, with its president Tom Bradshaw calling the…
