FARMERS’ long-standing opposition to Inheritance Tax changes has been victorious – with the Government u-turning on the policy.

The Labour administration has announced a planned threshold for farmers to pay inheritance tax – proposed for estates worth more than £1 million – has been increased to £2.5m, with married couples now able to pass on estates worth up to £5m between them, without incurring inheritence tax.

It comes after months of protests by the farming industry and opposition MPs.

Announcing the change, Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds (Lab, Wycombe), said: “We have listened closely to farmers across the country and we are making changes today to protect more ordinary family farms.

“It’s only right that larger estates contribute more, while we back the farms and trading businesses that are the backbone of Britain’s rural communities.”

In Somerset, the move was welcomed by county MPs, including Rachel Gilmour (Lib Dem, Minehead & Tiverton), who said: “Punch-and-Judy politics doesn’t deliver – constructive opposition does.

“By listening to farmers and working constructively with organisations such as the NFU and the CLA, Liberal Democrats have helped press the Government to rethink a policy that caused real anxiety in the countryside.

“I want to thank all the farmers across the Tiverton and Minehead constituency who have shared their experiences with me over the course of the last year – together, we have brought about real change.”

But she said she wanted the government to go further to support the farming industry, adding: “This is progress, but it does not go far enough. Liberal Democrats will continue to fight in the new year to see this unfair tax scrapped altogether so that family farms can plan for the future with confidence.”

Bridgwater MP Ashley Fox said the policy had caused distress to the farming industry

Ashley Fox, the Conservative MP for Bridgwater, said he welcomed the news.

“It is another Labour U-turn, and one that should not have taken this long to reach,” he went on.

“Raising the threshold from £1m to £2.5 million is a step in the right direction, but it should never have required this level of distress to get here.

“From the outset, Conservatives warned that this tax risked doing real damage to family farms, not just financially, but personally.

“Farmers, growers, and their families have lived for months under great uncertainty, and for some the pressure has been unbearable.

“Labour cannot ignore the fact that this policy has had severe human consequences, and caused immense distress to many people.

“This change is the result of sustained campaigning by Conservatives, farmers, the NFU, and voices from across Parliament who refused to stay silent. I pay tribute to the farmers who spoke out and to those who backed them.”

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