A Labour MP has called on the government to scrap the Family Farm Tax. Marcus Campbell-Savours (Penrith and Solway), as reported in the Cumbrian News & Star, appealed to the government to, "as a starter for ten", scrap the hugely controversial Family Farm Tax, reconsider the fertiliser tax, and deliver on farm profitability plans. He is the first Labour MP to do so.
The Countryside Alliance, which has long campaigned to scrap the tax, have welcomed the call and have urged his colleagues to join him in requesting a full U-turn on the policy.
The move comes after senior Labour figures recently criticised the farm tax. Last month Labour grandee Lord Blunkett, speaking at the launch of the Countryside Alliance's Campaign for the Countryside, said that the tax was a "mistake". Shortly afterwards, former farming minister Labour MP Daniel Zeichner stated that in hindsight the government should not have imposed the tax, and warned that "Labour should be careful about picking fights with the countryside."
Although the government made a partial U-turn on the policy last December, raising the threshold at which agricultural property becomes subject to the tax, recent figures have shown that it is still having a profound effect.
The Countryside Land and Business Association (CLA) have recently found that nearly nine in ten farming and rural family businesses have frozen investment as a result of the Family Farm Tax, with 85% of the 700 rural businesses questioned stating that the £2.5 million current allowance would not be enough to cover the value of their operation.
Mr Campbell-Savours last year voted against the government on the family farm tax and was suspended from the Labour party for four months.
Speaking to the News & Star, he said:
"It is time we pulled the stops out. As a starter for ten, the Government must deliver on its farm profitability plans, reconsider the fertiliser tax but also deliver one final U-turn and scrap its plans to abolish agricultural property relief."
The Countryside Alliance have identified at least 27 policies that have harmed rural people since 2024, and are calling on the government for a "rural reset". Harmful policies identified include the Family Farm Tax, hikes to National Insurance, proposals that would severely harm racing, the ban on trail hunting, and proposed restrictions to game shooting.
Mo Metcalf-Fisher, Director of External Affairs at the Countryside Alliance, said:
"It’s clear to many rural MPs that farmers are having a tough time and the hated family farm tax is very much the elephant in the room, impacting decisions they make about the future. We welcome this move, and hope it will encourage others in the government to do the same.
"If the government wants to show it’s serious about a resetting its relationship with the countryside, abolishing this blatant wrong would be a welcome start. With so many government policies threatening rural communities, it would send a clear message that the new government will be departing from the harmful policies of the past, and wants to work with the countryside, not against it."