Labour issued warning as farmers stage protest outside major conference | Politics | News

The row over an inheritance tax raid on farmers is “not over for the long haul”, Labor has been warned today during a new protest. Farmers staged a noisy demonstration, honking tractor horns, as Environment Minister Emma Reynolds addressed an agricultural conference in Oxford.

The Cabinet minister has ruled out further concessions on the so-called family farm tax after the threshold was raised from £1 million to £2.5 million last month. But farmers protesting outside the venue insisted changes to the controversial policy did not go far enough.

Dan Willis, 50, from Newbury, West Berkshire, warned that the rollback still did not give older people time to plan ahead.

He said: “I co-farm with my mother, who is in her 80s. She really doesn’t have time to get through this. The prospect of living through the next seven years is going to be tough, so this puts her directly in the line of fire.”

“What does £2.5 million buy in modern farming today? An arable farm probably has £3 million worth of machinery. It’s not close enough, the policy is completely flawed. I think this policy needs to be abolished completely for working farmers.”

He added: “I hope our message is loud and clear, this is not a long shot.”

James Wright, from Somerset, said: “Labour wants to reset their relationship with the countryside but farmers here want older farmers who can’t plan taxes to be protected.

“Emma Reynolds dismissed their concerns and said there would be no further concessions. This will not satisfy those working to protect family farms.”

Caroline Graham, a widowed farmer from Thatcher, West Berkshire, warned that the U-turn “does not solve the problem for most family farmers” and called for the policy to be scrapped.

He added: “I have a new grandson from my son and he will want to pass the farm on to him.”

Asked at the Oxford Agricultural Conference whether farmers were right to continue to press for further inheritance tax cuts, Ms Reynolds said: “I’m afraid that’s it.”

As farmers honked their tractor horns, he added: “I can also say, with great respect to those out there, that it is the people in this room who are engaging with us constructively and relatively quietly in this process, not the people honking their horns.”

Just before Christmas the Government announced it would increase the threshold to £2.5 million following months of protests against original plans announced in 2024.

Critics have warned the proposals could mean the end of family farms across the country, with fears elderly farmers will be pushed to the brink of suicide before the changes come into force next April.

The government has insisted the changes, which are expected to bring in around £500 million a year to the Treasury, will not affect most farms.

The Daily Express is campaigning for a complete U-turn with our Save Britain Family Farm campaign.