Devon MP rallies behind farmers against farm inheritance tax

Yesterday, Tuesday, November 19, thousands of farmers came to Westminster to air their concerns about the new laws around inheritance tax that may impact rural communities and family farms.

Caroline Voaden, Liberal Democrat MP for South Devon, met with seven farmers from her constituency to discuss the potential consequences of the controversial "family farm tax" for the 797 farms in the region. She has since called on the government to scrap the tax entirely.

It is no secret that farming communities face significant challenges.

The latest statistics reveal that in 2023 and 2024, average farm business income fell for all farm types, except for specialist pig farms.

As well as the family farm tax, the government has also decided to accelerate the phase out of direct debit payments to farmers under the basic payment scheme—decisions made to bolster public funds in the October 2024 budget.

This means that all recipients will see the base amount of their payments cut by 76 per cent next year.

Caroline Voaden has urged the government to review this decision, arguing that it denies farmers the opportunity to feed the nation sustainably and profitably while protecting the natural environment.

The Liberal Democrats have also called for an additional £1 billion in annual support for farmers and a reversal of the bus fare cap increase.

Summarising the conversations had with farmers yesterday, Caroline Voaden said: “All the farmers I’ve spoken to across South Devon are seriously concerned about the impact of the new Family Farm Tax.

“They recognise not only the risk it poses to our food security but the drastic changes it could make to farming life as we know it.

"After spending fourteen years being let down by successive Conservative governments, farmers now face a Labour government that doesn’t understand them.

"The Liberal Democrats are standing up for rural communities and calling for an axe to the family farm tax that would be disastrous for farmers across South Devon. I am urging the government to change course.”