Cameron Thomas MP demands ‘Axe the Family Farm Tax’
Tewkesbury MP Cameron Thomas met with members of the local farming community on Tuesday (19 November), stating his opposition to the inheritance tax hike announced in the autumn Budget, which will disproportionately affect small family farms.
Thousands of farmers headed to Westminster to protest against the Budget, and Cameron took the opportunity to listen to their concerns and declare his support. He is urging the Government to axe its changes to Agricultural Property Relief, which from April 2026 will impose an inheritance tax rate of 20% on combined business and agricultural assets of more than £1m.
Cameron said: “One of the local farmers I met works a farm with assets totalling £7m, but his annual income is only £10,000. Now nearing retirement age, if he wants to pass down the farm to his son to work, his son would face a £1,000,000 bill to keep the farm.
“I met a fourth-generation farmer whose family has managed their farm in Tewkesbury for more than 100 years, but he cannot justify burdening his daughter with so much debt. The family’s farming legacy will end with him.
“Farming is not a profitable business for most. It is a way of life for farmers, but it is becoming untenable.
“One farmer explained how he had adapted his farm through several crises over decades: BSE, foot and mouth disease, Bovine TB and Covid 19. He has absorbed blow-after-blow, but it is this government-imposed crisis that threatens to destroy his farm for good.
"Another broke down in front of me as he explained the impact on mental health that this announcement has had. These are incredibly resilient people who work as hard as anybody, in all conditions, but they are clearly at breaking point.
“There is a mental health crisis across the agricultural community and suicide rates are at four times the national average. One farmer told me: “We need to die by April 2026 so that we don’t have to face this (tax)”.
“I am urging this Labour Government to withdraw this measure and to implement a means-tested system that does not disproportionately impact honest, family-run farms. Farmers have been betrayed by the Conservative Party for more than a decade. Labour should not make the same mistakes.”