Farmers’ protest – live: Thousands set to march on Westminster in fury over Starmer’s inheritance tax hike

Labour says three-quarters of estates will not be affected by the upcoming changes, but campaigners have taken issue with this, reports my colleague Albert Toth.

According to Treasury analysis, around 500 estates will be impacted by the changes, with just the top 7 per cent of claims accounting for 40 per cent of the total value of the relief fund.

A release from the department adds: “It is not fair for a very small number of claimants each year to claim such a significant amount of relief, when this money could better be used to fund our public services.”

However, the Country Land and Business Association has said it is closer to 70,000 farms that will be affected. The new measure will mean “damaging family businesses and destabilising food security,” they add.

Economists have said this figure is slightly misleading. The 70,000 number does not reflect how many estates will have to pay inheritance tax each year, but rather how many are could be valued at over £1m today.

Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) says: “The changes will affect a remarkably small number of some of the most valuable farms.”

Campaigner and author Guy Shrubsole has highlighted the inequality of land ownership in England, with 18 per cent of land owned by corporations and a further 17 per cent by oligarchs and bankers.

And he said data from the Environment Department showed just 2,500 of the largest farms owned a quarter of England’s land, while 59 per cent of farms were less than 50 hectares.

Mr Shrubsole said: “Small farmers deserve all of our support – and they’re not helped by giving tax breaks to wealthy investors who’ve been snapping up farmland as a handy tax shelter, inflating the price of land and starving public services of cash.”

Ahead of the protests, environment secretary Steve Reed defended the changes as “fair and balanced”, saying it would only affect 500 estates a year and small family farms would not be hit.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Reed said exemptions for agricultural land had led to wealthy individuals from non-farming backgrounds buying up land to avoid paying inheritance.

That had forced up rural land prices, “robbing young farmers of the dream of owning their own farm”.

And he said: “It’s become the most effective way for the super-rich to avoid paying their inheritance tax – and it’s costing other taxpayers a whopping £200m.”

From April 2026, landowners who inherit agricultural assets worth more than £1m will have to pay 20 per cent inheritance tax (IHT) on them. These assets were previously entirely exempt from the tax under the agricultural property relief law.

Under the new rules, the 20 per cent levy – which is half of the standard 40 per cent rate – will be charged on assets above the £1 million threshold only. Also unlike regular IHT, the levy can be paid in interest-free instalments over a ten-year period.

The exemption is stacked with other IHT relief measures. Inheritance tax is already not paid if the value of the estate being passed on is worth under £325,000, plus £175,000 for a home under certain conditions.

For a farm owned by two people, this means the effective tax-free amount passed on is £3m when combining both their allowances plus each getting the £1m agricultural relief.

My colleague Albert Toth has more details here:

Large demonstrations by farmers are expected in London on Tuesday as they fight to reverse “absolutely unacceptable” changes to inheritance tax.

The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) is holding a mass lobby of MPs with 1,800 of its members – three times as many people as originally planned – to urge backbenchers to stand up to the Government’s plans to impose inheritance tax on farms worth more than £1 million.

And thousands more are expected to join a separate rally in Whitehall as they protest against last month’s Budget, which also sped up the phase out of EU-era subsidies as funding is switched to nature-friendly farming schemes.

Celebrities including TV presenter and farmer Jeremy Clarkson – who told the Times in 2021 that avoiding inheritance tax was “critical” in his decision to buy land – are expected to join the rally.

Emily Beament reports:

Good afternoon, we’ll be using this blog to bring you the latest updates as farmers stage a large demonstration in Whitehall tomorrow to protest against the government’s proposed inheritance tax changes.