Kemi Badenoch has accused Labour of waging a war on the countryside ahead of Rachel Reeves’s Budget.
The Tory leader brought dozens of farmers and food producers together in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, on Monday for an “emergency summit” ahead of the Chancellor’s statement on 26 November.
The Conservative Party plans to compile a list of measures to hand to the Government that will help save the farming industry, including axing inheritance tax (IHT) on the sector.
When asked whether Labor had waged war on the countryside, Mrs Badenoch said: “Yes they have. This has been ideological. When I said to the farmers during the summit that one of the problems is that people in Labour have never run a business, they all cheered. They know that is the case.”
She added: “They don’t understand what it takes to actually start a business, keep it going, employ people. They just keep piling measure after measure. That last budget alone, it’s not just the family farm tax that they put on, it was also the changes they made to the job’s tax, employer’s national insurance, which makes it harder to hire young people. Taking away the business rates relief from a lot of the businesses that the farmers rely on. All of those things have had a terrible impact, so yes, they are waging war and it’s got to stop.”
Ms Reeves said that from April 2026, combined agricultural and business property assets up to £1million will still receive 100% relief but anything above that will be taxed at an effective rate of 20%.
Asset rich farmers who are cash poor fear they will have to sell off their land – making it unviable for food production – to foot the tax bill.
The Daily Express has campaigned for the Government to U-turn on its inheritance tax raid through the Save Britain’s Family Farms crusade.
Mrs Badenoch, who acknowledged the Tories had made mistakes on agriculture while they were in power, also used the summit to warn that “farmers are drowning in bureaucracy”.
She promised to “relieve the burden on farmers” if the Conservative party wins the next general election.
The Tory leader said: “You can’t create farmers overnight. Once they stop farming, they stop farming. That’s why this is an emergency farming summit. There are two many times the governments, of all colours, have tried to fix everything with creating more rules. I think what we need now is more common sense.”
Shadow Environment Secretary Victoria Atkins joined Mrs Badenoch, alongside several Tory MPs, for the event.
Ms Atkins said: “With food prices climbing, record farm closures, two pubs and restaurants closing every single day, business investment plummeting, business confidence plummeting and the tragic stories we are hearing before this dreaded family farm tax has even come into force. This has created an emergency so that’s why I’ve brought farmers, fishermen and food producers here today to come up with the urgent measures they need to survive the next 12 months, let alone thrive.”
Ms Reeves is reportedly considering proposals to raise the IHT relief threshold for farmers from the currently planned £1 million limit to £5 million at her Budget.
A Government spokesman said: “Farmers are stewards for our nation’s land and for our food security. Farming also plays a central role in our mission to kickstart economic growth.
“That is why we are backing them through new technology, streamlined regulation and our nature-friendly farming schemes helping farmers produce food for the nation.“Our reforms to Agricultural and Business Property Relief are vital to fix the public services we all rely on.”
