The Conservative opposition has accused Labour of “declaring war” on British farmers with its controversial inheritance tax raid, dubbed the “tractor tax” by critics. Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, faced a grilling from Tory frontbencher Alex Burghart during Prime Minister’s Questions, as she failed to rule out further tax hikes on farmers.
Burghart warned that “everyone here and all the farmers at home will have heard there was no guarantee there. We know what that means: They are coming back for more.” He claimed a typical 360-acre family farm in his constituency would face a £500,000 liability, making the farm “totally unviable” when passed on.
The Government has insisted the “vast majority” of estates will be unaffected, but farmers have protested that the changes will devastate their way of life. Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, urged farmers to take their demonstrations to Labour-held market towns, especially those with narrow majorities, in a bid to force a “serious revision” of the policy.
Tory frontbenchers accused Labour of “punishing” groups that did not vote for them, pointing to the tractor tax, as well as VAT on private school fees and rises in employer National Insurance contributions. The Opposition claimed the Government was “stoking†inflation and failing to support struggling farmers.
The row over the inheritance tax raid looks set to rumble on, with the Government facing a backlash from the agricultural community and its political opponents.
