Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.
The pressure is building on several Labour MPs to revolt against government plans to change rules on inheritance tax for farmers, analysis by The Independent can reveal.
On Monday, hundreds of protesting farmers blocked Whitehall before MPs entered Parliament to debate a petition calling for a U-turn on Rachel Reeves’ controversial proposal.
Under the chancellor’s plan, a 20 per cent inheritance tax rate will be introduced on farms worth more than £1 million from April 2026. But it has sparked a furious backlash in farming communities and created a problem for many newly-elected Labour MPs in rural constituencies.
Analysis of the signatories of a petition, called ‘Don’t change inheritance tax relief for working farms’ and signed by 150,000 people, shows the Labour-held seats with the highest number of constituents signing it.
It comes as Save British Farming and the Countryside Alliance urge MPs to act on the issue or face losing their seat at the next election.
The Labour seat with the highest number of petition signatures (768) was Penrith and Solway, held by Markus Campbell-Savours.
Mr Campbell-Savours, who has more farms in his constituency than any other Labour MP, voiced reservations on the policy in a speech in the Commons last year.
More recently, the MP, who won his seat last year with a 5,300 majority, organised a survey of farmers over concerns he had heard on the viability of family farms and supply chains in Cumbria as a result of the plan.
He did not respond in time to The Independent for comment.
The Labour seat with the second highest number of signatures (686) was Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr, where MP Steve Witherden became the first Labour representative to express doubts about the proposal last year.
Third was the Derbyshire Dales, where MP John Whitby won the seat with a majority of just 350. A total of 666 people have signed the petition in his constituency. In Mr Whitby’s maiden speech in October, he pledged to stand up for the farming community in the Dales.
MP David Smith’s constituency of North Northumberland and MP Anna Gelderd’s of South East Cornwall had 599 and 576 people signing the petition respectively.
Of the Labour MPs to win on the tightest majorities, MP Sam Carling’s constituency of North West Cambridgeshire had 294 signatures. Mr Carling won with a majority of just 39. In the Forest of Dean, 400 people signed the petition where MP Matt Bishop won with a majority of 278.
Labour MP Jenny Riddell-Carpenter, whose constituency Suffolk Coastal had 325 people sign the petition, told The Independent she had passed on farmers’ concerns to the Treasury.
She added: “But at the heart of the challenges facing our farming industry is that of profitability. Without profitability, farmers cannot sustain their businesses or plan for the future. This isn’t to take away the real concerns that farmers have about the Agricultural Property Relief, but it has exposed a real and fundamental problem facing the farming industry.”
Ms Riddell-Carpenter is one of 46 Labour MPs who has signed an open letter to six major supermarkets calling for a better deal for farmers.
But farming leaders have called on the MPs to do more.
Liz Webster, founder of Save British Farming, which organised Monday’s tractor protest in Whitehall, told The Independent: “If they don’t have a rethink we will be going into a depression and they [Labour MPs] will pay for that. As we saw with the financial crisis in 2008, many Labour MPs lost their seats and this is going to be a lot worse than that.
“If they want to have a future they need to think again and influence the parliamentary party to understand the implications of what is going on and why we need food security.”
Mo Metcalf-Fisher, from the Countryside Alliance, said: “These figures alongside, wider public opinion polling, should serve as a reality check for MPs serving rural constituencies.
“The family farm tax is deeply unpopular and risks overshadowing every other conversation about the countryside under this government. Labour MPs in particular, many of whom represent rural communities for the first time, need to stand up and speak out, before it’s too late.”
Last month a government spokesperson said: “Our reform to Agricultural and Business Property Relief will mean estates will pay a reduced effective inheritance tax rate of 20 per cent, rather than standard 40 per cent, and payments can be spread over 10 years, interest-free.
“This is a fair and balanced approach, which fixes the public services we all rely on, affecting around 500 estates a year.”
