Blunkett tells Burnham to learn from family farm tax ‘mistakes’

Former Labour home secretary Lord Blunkett will warn Andy Burnham’s government to learn from its “mistakes” over the family farm inheritance tax changes as he calls for a reset in Labour’s relationship with the countryside.

Lord Blunkett, a Labour peer, will make the intervention at the Countryside Alliance’s Campaign for the Countryside launch in Westminster today (Monday 14 September), amid growing pressure on the government over policies affecting rural communities.

See also: Pressure mounts on Burnham for Budget farm tax U-turn

Writing for The Daily Telegraph, he says: “It is not possible to turn the clock back on the mistakes made on family-owned farms and inheritance tax, but it is possible to learn that what might seem logical and rational to an official brought up in a town and living out their life in London can have devastating consequences in the real world for those who contribute to our food security.”

He concludes: “Learning from our mistakes costs us nothing, but failing to learn from our mistakes costs us dear.”

The intervention comes as new polling reveals the scale of Labour’s challenge in the countryside.

An ORB International survey of 2,081 adults found just 15% of rural residents believe Labour cares about people who live and work in the countryside, while 43% said they felt the government had “waged war on the countryside”.

Nationally, 55% said the government favours cities over the countryside, compared with just 11% who disagreed.

However, the poll also suggests a potential opportunity for Labour, with 28% of rural residents saying they would be more likely to vote for the party if it reset its relationship with rural communities.

The Countryside Alliance says 27 policies introduced or announced since 2024 have harmed rural communities and is calling for a government “rural reset”.

Among those affecting farming are changes to agricultural property relief and business property Relief (APR and BPR), higher employer National Insurance contributions, increases to the National Living Wage, the closure and redesign of the Sustainable Farming Incentive, planning reforms and the government’s Land Use Framework.

Farmers are also facing the introduction of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (Cbam) from January 2027, which will apply a carbon price to certain imported goods, including fertilisers, with potential implications for agricultural supply chains.

Government response

The government says the farm inheritance tax changes will affect 185 farm businesses in 2026-27. The rules, introduced in April 2026, allow 100% relief on the first £2.5m of combined agricultural and business assets (£5m for spouses or civil partners), with assets above that receiving 50% relief.

Lord Blunkett also calls for the government to abandon proposals to ban trail hunting and says rural Britain needs better transport, connectivity and water infrastructure.

He writes: “The glory of the English countryside only exists if we protect and promote what we have been handed down by generations before us.”

Former Conservative prime minister David Cameron (Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton), and former NFU president and crossbench peer Minette Batters (Baroness Batters) are also due to speak at the Countryside Alliance event.