The President of the National Farmers Union (NFU) has told the house of Commons committee the reasons why Labour’s inheritance tax grab is a bombshell for many elderly farmers.
NFU chief Tom Bradshaw told MPs that some elderly farmers now making life or death decisions and implied that some could take their own lives before Labour’s new tax measures starts in April 2026.
He quietly gave a brutal dig at Labour saying, “No policy should ever be published that has that unintended side effect.”
Bradshaw told the committee that farmers are contacting him as they are concerned for their parents, as some will not have seven years left to live and will not be able to pass farms on to their children as they will not be able to afford this “cruel” inheritance tax hike.
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He told MPs who were visibly left shocked, “Somebody said earlier ‘they haven’t taken advice’ – that’s completely wrong. A lot of these people have spent a lot of money on the best tax planning advice, and until the Chancellor sat down [after her budget] the correct advice was to keep the farm until death.
“Now they don’t have any way to plan through that and yet they’ve given everything to producing food in this country in that period post Second World War.
“They really deserve a lot more respect than they have been given by the changes that are proposed.”
He quietly gave a brutal dig at Labour saying, “No policy should ever be published that has that unintended side effect.”
Bradshaw explained the to committee with tears in his eyes that farming is not just about money, they are custodians of the countryside and pass this on to their children which has been done for generations.
The NFU President who was emotional, warned, “It’s not money, this is a lifetime of work, it’s the heritage…”
A very upset Bradshaw composed himself and continued, “and the custodianship of that farm.”
Opposition MPs told the Labour leader during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday he should “change course” over the Chancellor’s changes to inheritance tax that will have a catastrophic impact on farms across the country.
Sir Keir Starmer was accused of being “duplicitous” as farmers protest in Westminster against Labour’s Budget measures.
Farmers will be forced to pay 20% inheritance tax on their land and properties after the first £1 million.
Tory Norfolk MP Jerome Mayhew later told MPs in the House of Commons, “’Losing a farm is not like losing any other business. It can’t come back’.
“Now, those are the words of the Prime Minister, that is what he said to the NFU (National Farmers’ Union) in order to get their votes, so can the Prime Minister understand why farmers in Broadland and Fakenham and around the country now think that his administration is duplicitous?”
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