Farming and Inheritance Tax

Judith Cummins Excerpts

Wednesday 4th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Samantha Niblett (South Derbyshire) (Lab)]

I am quite astonished because, as we sat in a pub car park in the run-up to the general election, farmers in my constituency told me—I kid you not—that they know they do better under a Labour Government but they often vote Conservative. It feels like the Conservatives have taken their loyalty for granted. The right hon. Gentleman has been talking about how hard things are, and I agree with him. Farmers talk about their margins, and those margins are tight, but who caused them to be in that situation? We are now in a position of power—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)]

Order. I remind Members that interventions need to be interventions. They should be brief and ask a question that is relevant to the speech being made.

[David Mundell]

I do not know whether the hon. Member for South Derbyshire (Samantha Niblett) was here for the speech of the hon. Member for Penrith and Solway, but he set out exactly what happened to him as a Labour MP, having given farmers assurances about what Labour would do in government and the farmers finding that they had been betrayed. Now, the choice is not final, as he said, and hopefully this debate has shown the passion of both farmers and those who represent rural constituencies.

--- Later in debate ---

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)]

Order. Members will be aware that I am starting the wind-ups at 4.40 pm precisely. For the last few minutes, I call Lewis Cocking.

[Lewis Cocking (Broxbourne) (Con)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Broxbourne is not known for its farms, but this year’s boundary changes have seen my agricultural land increase. This tax will also affect thousands of my constituents through the supply chain and buying food at supermarkets. However, I want to concentrate on something we keep hearing from Labour Members. We are told that the farmers represented by Opposition MPs or Conservative MPs are completely against the policy, and we are told time and again by Labour Members, as a number have stood up to say today, that they have spoken to their farmers, who seem happy about it, and they are going to vote with the Government. So I thought I would go out there and put that to the test.

As I have said, my seat has had boundary changes and farms have moved into my constituency. If this one farm had remained in the original seat before the general election, it would now be represented by a Labour Member, but it is not: it moved into my constituency and it is represented by a Conservative Member. I asked this farmer, when I went to visit them, if they are completely against this policy. They said, “Yep, absolutely, Lewis. This will destroy our family farm.” I asked them if, pre-boundary changes, they were in their old seat and had a Labour Member of Parliament, their view would still be the same. They said to me, “Don’t be so silly, Lewis; of course it would be the same.” So I do not understand which farmers Labour Members are speaking to, because their views cannot be different from the views of my farmers. Thousands of them from across the country, including my constituency and the wider Hertfordshire area, came to Westminster to show their displeasure with the Government, so will Labour Members please think again, vote with us today and stand up for their farmers?

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)]

I call the shadow Minister.

--- Later in debate ---

[Daniel Zeichner]

No. I am afraid that the right hon. Gentleman came in late, and if you turn up late, you do not get to speak. [Interruption.] I recognise the frustration and anxiety being felt by farmers around the country. [Interruption.]

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)]

Order. I am sure that hon. Members want to listen to the Minister. I know that my constituents certainly do, and farmers across the country certainly will.

[Daniel Zeichner]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I am not sure that Conservative Members do want to listen, really.

As a result of the anxiety that we know people are feeling, it is right that the Prime Minister, the Environment Secretary and I have all met with the NFU president Tom Bradshaw to talk about the proposed reforms. The Government have and will continue to engage with the NFU, the CLA, the Tenant Farmers Association and other stakeholders. The reforms will not be introduced until April 2026, so there is plenty of time for people to plan for change and to get, as they always should when running major businesses, professional advice about succession planning.

Let us be honest: last month’s protests were not just about APR. Rural communities have felt ignored and let down by this place after decades of failure. The Conservatives sold out British farmers in trade deals with New Zealand and Australia. I listened to the shadow Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for Louth and Horncastle (Victoria Atkins)—did we get any apology for the trade deals? Not a word; no contrition. They have learned nothing. They left farmers facing spiralling energy bills because they refused to invest in cheaper home-grown British power—a decision that sent fertiliser and animal feed costs soaring.

The Conservatives were so incompetent that they failed to get £300 million earmarked for farmers out the door, leaving farmers out of pocket as the money sat idle in Treasury coffers. The disastrous kamikaze Budget crashed Britain’s economy and sent interest rates and mortgages skyrocketing, at massive cost to our farmers and rural communities. As a result of all that, public services are broken; hospital waiting lists are at record highs; schools in rural areas are crumbling—if Conservative Members use them, of course—and roads across country areas are cratered with potholes.

Rural communities are rightly feeling ignored and left behind. This Government will not accept that. These reforms will disincentivise the wealthy from buying up agricultural land to shield their wealth from inheritance tax, and they will also raise the money needed to fix those public services. This is a turning point for national renewal. The Budget also commits £5 billion to agriculture over the next two years.