What does it say about Labour’s tax policy when farmers are allowing their business to deteriorate?

One of the biggest mistakes that the Sir Keir Starmer government made was the introduction of the family farm tax.

On the one hand the government was making promises to shore up food security on the other hand it was undermining the very businesses tasked with delivering said security.

At the end last year, the Government issued a climbdown of sorts, increasing the threshold, at which a 20 per cent tax on inherited agricultural assets would apply, from £1m to £2.5m.

While the U-turn may have been a relief to many small farms, polling by the CLA (Country Land and Business Association) reveals the impact that even this watered down policy is having.

Andy Burnham may have replaced Starmer as Prime Minister but his Government has also made economic growth a key priority. Yet many farms are pausing investment or even in some cases devaluing their businesses in a bid to avoid triggering higher bills that they would incur as a result of the dreaded family farm tax.

CLA said respondents to its poll described being forced to cancel the creation of holiday homes, put off buying new machinery, stop growing crops, delay building reservoirs needed to cope with drought. Some are even allowing buildings and land to deteriorate.

This is the very antithesis of growth and a very real threat to Britain’s food security.

These findings show that Burnham’s Government needs to reconsider the family farm tax at the upcoming Budget. For the good of the rural economy and for the good of food security.

It is also an opportunity for the Burnham administration to put daylight between it and Starmer’s government and signal a change when it comes to agricultural policy.