LICHFIELD District Council has been urged to formally oppose changes to inheritance tax due to the impact it could have on farming communities.
A motion has been proposed by Cllr Thomas Marshall ahead of a meeting tomorrow (10th December).
The Conservative representative for Armitage with Handsacre has put forward the issue for debate due to what he says will be “severe impacts” of the inheritance tax changes for food security and rural communities.
He also urged councillors of all political persuasions to “stand with Britain’s family farms” by standing up against the Government’s plans.
His motion says:
“The proposed changes to inheritance tax announced by the Labour Government in the recent Autumn budget would scrap Agricultural Property Relief which has been instrumental in allowing British family farms to remain intact across generations, supporting food security, sustaining rural communities, and aiding environmental stewardship.
“This tax is estimated to impact over 70,000 family farms, leaving the average farming family with a tax bill of at least £240,000 which will force many to sell portions of their land or close entirely, paving the way for corporate ownership over family ownership.
“This tax will have severe impacts as selling off land or closing farms will put our national food independence at risk, at a time when global stability is already fragile. British family farms are critical to ensuring a steady supply of homegrown food.
“Family farms are the foundation of rural Britain, contributing to local jobs, schools, and essential services. Labour’s proposed tax risks destabilising communities, eroding the rural way of life, and causing a negative ripple effect across the countryside.
“Farms cover 70% of the UK’s land, with family farms playing a leading role in nature recovery, biodiversity, and sustainable land management. The sale and fragmentation of these lands would hinder conservation efforts and undermine environmental initiatives.”
The motion calls for the council to oppose the inheritance tax changes and to advocate for the exemption of family farms from the move.
Lichfield MP Dave Robertson said Cllr Marshall had not spoken up when previous concerns had been raised over farming issues.
“The new Government is having to make hard choices to fix the foundations of our economy given the £22billion black hole in the public finances and the profitability crisis in farming which was left by the Conservatives.
“Cllr Marshall and his Conservative colleagues said nothing when the previous government signed a disastrous trade deal with Australia and New Zealand which undercut British farmers by allowing low quality food imports.
“They were similarly silent when the last Government failed to spend £300million on support for farming businesses last year, and when rural crime skyrocketed under their watch.
“In the last five years 7% of the agricultural businesses in the West Midlands closed and they said nothing – I think rural communities will see through the bluster to the litany of failure of the Conservatives since 2010.”
Words! The countryside is a foreign land to Labour. Hard working farming families are to be the victims of class warfare by urban, far left, idealogues who know nothing about the countryside, or much else outside of SW1, Islington and the inner cities. The disastrous collectivisation of farming by Stalin in 1920’s Soviet Union by ideological fanatics did not end well. Nor will this…
There have always been loopholes in the tax system which are exploited by rich investor’s. Farm land is just one of them. For it to work properly it needs better definition. Which farms are owner occupied and involved in food production. Is the food produced for home consumption or to be sold abroad (as is much of our meat products). Is the land used for food production and not solar sites, holiday sheds, theme parks, pumpkins and much else that is not strictly farming.
Farms have always benefited from subsidies and tax breaks. I have no problem with that but the loopholes should be closed to ensure the criteria of exactly what is a farm and if we really benefit from the activities they engage in.
Labour have taken a blunderbuss to ordinary farmers when they needed to snipe those abusing the exemption. Land has gone up in value because tax avoiders (not evaders) have exploited a reasonable exemption. No doubt they will be happy for Chinese and Dutch agro concerns to hoover up small farms to create mega industrial farms.
It does amuse me somewhat though when this climate change denier Marshall raises concerns regarding farming. I would have thought with all these Autumn rains we are having and the resulting waterlogging of farmland the penny might drop. For every extra 1C air can hold 7-8% more water. Warmer seas mean stronger winds. Worked it out yet?
It is the Tory councillor labour bashing .look after Lichfield for a change as you haven’t for years
It would be great for our labour MP to actually make positive statements.
There is no verifiable £22bn back hole.
What has labour done to resolve the missing £300m support they talk about? I have heard nothing on this topic.
What has labour done about reducing the number of closures of agricultural businesses if such an action is appropriate according the reasons for the closure of the businesses?
How will the increase in inheritance taxes for farms improve the situation for Lichfield and surrounding area farmers?
How will the increase in National Insurance on farm workers assist farms? Could it be that Labours budget will in fact have only negative impacts on farmers.
We look forward to positive responses from our MP, not negative comments aimed at others to attempt to deflect from an issue.
Once again Robbo goes down the party line, siting the black hole Labour have invented as an excuse for everything they can’t justify.
Trash our farms to fund the wave of debt nationalisation of the railways will bring, and build up a good reserve for the next pay demands from the unions is what they really mean.
What a ridiculous load of nonsense from Patrick Young. Acting like some paranoid Trumpist and that The Labour Administration is purely attacking the countryside on a class basis. Whether or not this policy is correct or not, please do not use the pathetic old excuse that Townies have no idea about the countryside is run and that any attempt to introduce legislation to make any change is an attack on their lifestyle etc. They trotted out the same absurd rationale to try and defend the vile sadistic spectacle that is hunting with dogs, which well over 80% of the population wanted banned. And isn’t it just a tad extreme to compare Stalin’s collectivization policy with Labour’s policy proposal. Whether you like Starmer’s government or not, it is just slightly unlikely that they will act like Stalin’s henchmen in enforcing their will on the countryside.
Labours inheritance tax changes on the farmers are expected to raise £230 million in 2026-2027 and £530 million in 2029-2030. More than £536 million is being spent overseas on ten programmes including grants to promote low-carbon agriculture practices in Brazil , the world’s 11th richest country. Labour spending hundreds of millions on foreign farmers while British farmers livelihoods are being destroyed.
Of course, if we hadn’t inflicted so much damage on our own economy by leaving the EU, the Government would not now be needing to raise taxes to plug the gaping hole left by the previous incompetent administration. Someone is going to have to pay for Brexit and, unfortunately for them, some farmers do have wealth they can’t easily hide offshore.
Carl Sholl – Those in denial of the ill effects of Brexit should tell us of the benefits.
They can tell it to you, and tell it to me.
They can tell it to the marines.