MP for Frome and East Somerset Anna Sabine met with constituents as thousands of farmers travelled to Westminster to protest against changes to inheritance tax on farms.

The recent meeting came as the Liberal Democrats demand a reversal of what the party describes as a ‘family farm tax’ amid growing discontent in the farming community.

Since 1984, farmers have been exempt from inheritance tax, thanks to the Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief.

However, it was announced in the government’s autumn budget that this exemption would be capped at £1 million from April 2026. This means that all farms worth more than that will be subject to inheritance tax when passed on to younger generations.

This will be at a rate of 20 per cent, half the standard inheritance tax rate, with payments able to be made over a period of ten years interest free.

Ms Sabine met with farmers to further discuss the impact of the changes, which could potentially affect up to 534 farms in the area. This follows a meeting she had with the National Farmers Union (NFU) last week in Somerset.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves had argued that 28 per cent of farms will be affected by the changes across the country, though the NFU argue that figures from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs suggest that up to 66 per cent of farms could be potentially impacted.

The latest statistics also highlighted other struggles faced by farmers, as in the financial year 2023/24, average farm business income was lower for all farm types except for specialist pig and poultry farms.

Along with a reversal of the government’s plans, the Liberal Democrats are also calling for an additional £1 billion a year in support for farmers, alongside a scrap to the bus fare cap increase. 

Ms Sabine said: “Family farmers across Frome and East Somerset are working hard to continue to be viable in an industry that has been consistently undermined by the Conservative party and now the Labour Government as well. They are diversifying and implementing sustainability practices but receiving no support from a government that doesn’t seem to care about rural communities.

“The demand for food is there and will continue to be more and more important as climate change moves to change production abilities worldwide, if we don’t start supporting local farmers and rural communities now, the consequences for the nation could be catastrophic.”