Inheritance tax haunts as farming split on next steps

Despite facing a year of relentless challenges – from bluetongue outbreaks and extreme weather events to trade deals threatening the closure of the Vivergo bioethanol plant – one issue continues to dominate the mood across UK agriculture – farm inheritance tax (IHT).

And as Labour prepares for its annual conference in Llandudno this weekend, farming voices appear increasingly split over how best to respond.

While grassroots groups such as Digon yw Digon (‘Enough is Enough’), as well as Farmers To Action, prepare to flood the Welsh coastal town with tractors, placards and protestors, the NFU is sticking firmly to a strategy of quiet but persistent political pressure.

See also: Time running out for farmers in IHT battle

NFU president Tom Bradshaw said looming IHT changes are “the thing that overshadows everything”.

“Every week, I have another member come up to me,” he told the NFU Council meeting in Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, on Tuesday.

“Last Friday I was at the Three Counties Show. It was the daughter of a 98-year-old. They can’t plan.

“The 83-year-old with dementia. They can’t change their will. These are real people, not just stories.”

However, Mr Bradshaw said he believed a “genuine willingness” to engage was emerging among backbench Labour MPs – a marked shift from six months ago.

Some MPs, he said, were now taking their concerns to Treasury minister James Murray and asking why the government has yet to release modelling on the NFU’s proposed “clawback” alternative.

“We’ve been really reasonable as the NFU. We have provided a responsible solution to the problem,” Mr Bradshaw insisted.

NFU Cymru president Aled Jones added: “We spent two days in Westminster last week meeting nine Labour MPs on IHT.

“There was no resistance. No challenges. They felt aggrieved that Treasury were not engaging.”

At the same time, the NFU’s AI-driven letter-writing campaign continues to gain traction, with more than 200 members having already used it to send personalised messages to MPs.

Postcards and handwritten letters will soon be made available to those less digitally inclined.

“This campaign is not over – it’s just different,” Mr Bradshaw said.

“We’re doing it in a way that we believe stands the best chance of getting results.”

‘IHT cloud hangs over industry’

But for Herefordshire farmer and NFU Council delegate Martin Williams, the policy itself is still too damaging to ignore.

“With the cloud of IHT hanging over everybody in the industry, it seems very difficult to have a meaningful dialogue about productivity,” he said.

“There’s been no impact assessment. No proper engagement.

“It’s not just bad policy – it’s a failure of due diligence.

“Pretty much everybody can see that it’s not quite right. But at what point do doors open and they have the dialogue on it?”

He added: “If Minette Batters’ upcoming profitability review doesn’t highlight IHT as a major concern, I’d be very surprised – and disappointed.”

Farmers Weekly has requested a response from both the UK and Welsh governments.