Clause 1

Maya Ellis Excerpts

Monday 12th January 2026 Commons Chamber

How on earth is it fair that a family business in my constituency has already been told that its BPR liability will be more than £800,000? It employs 250 people in Keighley, and the professional advice it has been given to mitigate that tax liability is either to dispose of assets, or to dispose of shares in the business. Either way, that family are losing the productivity of their business and potentially exposing a number of jobs, and they may have to give away the ownership of a business that has been in the family for four generations. This is bad policy by the Government. They may have raised the threshold, but it is quite clear to me and the many stakeholders I have spoken to that they have not done their homework when looking at the practicalities of the implementation. That is why Conservative Members will continue to take the narrative that the family farm tax and the family business tax must be axed in their entirety.

[Maya Ellis (Ribble Valley) (Lab)]

It is a delight to speak in this debate following what was possibly the best Christmas present that I have ever received: no shade to my parents or husband, but when we got the call from the Treasury on 23 December and heard about the raising of the threshold for agricultural property relief and business property relief, it was more than I had ever hoped for. I am grateful to the Chancellor, the Prime Minister and colleagues for navigating the genuinely tricky balance between ensuring that the farming industry is not used to avoid tax, that our family farms are protected and encouraged to thrive, and that food security is protected in increasingly turbulent times internationally.

Let me put on record my huge thanks to my colleagues in the Labour Rural Research Group, of which I am delighted to have become treasurer today as we regroup for our next plans. In pushing for the change to the thresholds, they have shown me the collegiate and constructive politics that I had always hoped was possible for this country, under the solid leadership of my impressive hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk Coastal (Jenny Riddell-Carpenter).

When I stood as an MP in a rural area, I was most excited to learn more about the land and the farming industry that had been all around me growing up. It was challenging to have to start those conversations among such heated debate, but I got into politics because I like a robust discussion. And you know what? The situation allowed us to move past the niceties quickly and to talk frankly from the beginning about what really mattered to farmers, farming communities and family businesses—and it has been a joy to hear about the passion, the history, the deep pride in this country and its traditions, and about what our land and close-knit communities provide for us, from the voices of families who are motivated to keep it going in a way that money alone could never inspire.

We have heard a lot of discussion in recent years about what it means to be British. A poll last year by More in Common found that of all the things that British people are proud of, the countryside came second, with only the NHS ahead of it. There are a lot of decisions to be made about the role of agriculture in British society. I am grateful to Minette Batters for producing in her farming profitability review a brave and system-wide approach to the future of farming in this country, and I hope that the Government are bold enough to take on all her recommendations. We also have trade deals to negotiate, which must uphold the same standards that we rightly hold our farmers to, and indeed that they want to uphold without being undercut from abroad.

We have also had a lot of discussions about ideas like 15-minute cities and sustainable economies. Most rural towns and villages are 15-minute cities, with everything in one place and everyone helping each other out. I know that globalisation favours agglomeration and the urban, but let us not forget who did circular economies first: our rural towns and villages. Let us learn from them now, as much as we ask them to learn from the things that we do in this place.

When we talk about what it means to be British in the light of this Finance Bill, which sets the tone for what we want British growth to be in the next decade, let us make sure that we protect what makes us want to be British. I do not want this country to be prosperous at any cost—I want us to be prosperous in a truly British way. Both myself and the public are clear that that includes the countryside, and our rural economies and communities, being at the very heart of who we are.

I thank the Government for their continued work on adapting the Bill through amendment 24, and looking more widely at how we improve and sustain support for farming in the long term. I have 829 farms in my Ribble Valley constituency—mainly dairy and cattle, and with a wide range of innovation and diversification. One farm I visited has a value of around £3 million, and the people I met there told me that they had slowly seen farm after farm close in their part of the constituency over the past 20 years. Today’s changes mean that they now have confidence that the farm can be passed on to a fifth generation, and they are also confident to invest in new calf housing, supported by other Government funding.

I question how many famers Opposition Members have spoken to in recent weeks, because most of my farmers are happy with these changes and want me to now focus on other critical issues. The farm I mentioned has seen a drop of 9.5p per litre in what it has been paid for milk since last October, so although I now welcome the tax policy in the Bill, I remind the Government that that there is still a huge amount of work to do to ensure that farms are sustainable and our food security is robust.

I hope that the Government will work with us to put increasing pressure on supermarket shareholders to play their part—supermarkets are companies that thrive from British custom—by working much harder to protect the lifeblood of our economy, as farmers are, as well as their pockets.

[Michelle Scrogham (Barrow and Furness) (Lab)]

It has been an absolute pleasure to work with the Labour Rural Research Group and to see the difference it makes when we have serious conversations behind the scenes, talking to the Treasury and Ministers. In the last 12 months, I have met over 100 farmers from my constituency, who were all incredibly concerned about the changes that were proposed. We had serious conversations about what we needed to do and listened to them talk about their problems. While they were all incredibly pleased with the changes to those proposals, does my hon. Friend agree that our farmers and farming communities have struggled for decades? They might have farms worth lots of money, but it is more important that they are profitable. Does she agree that those are the changes that we need to make?

[Maya Ellis]

I completely agree. That is why it is disappointing that the Opposition are looking at certain details, when all the farmers that I speak to desperately want us to focus on the next stages of how we support those farms. We have done the thing that we needed to do to protect the smallest ones.

[Stuart Anderson (South Shropshire) (Con)]

The hon. Member spoke about the Labour Rural Research Group. Will it stand with the Opposition in rejecting Ukrainian eggs coming into the UK and undercutting British farmers?

[Maya Ellis]

The hon. Gentleman raises a really important point. We have spoken about that issue with Ministers; is an important conversation that we absolutely have to have.

Another of my farms belongs to a constituent who was one of the first to reach out to me and meet me in London. I have spoken about his farm in previous debates; it is a partnership between husband, wife and mother. Under the original plans, he would have faced a liability of £130,000 when the mother passed away in coming years, but thanks to Government amendment 24 the liability is completely removed, allowing them to focus on profitability.

I also have a significant number of family-owned businesses in my constituency, including Massey Feeds, which happens to supply the agricultural sector. Its people made a really strong point to me when I met them last year; if they had had to downscale to afford the original proposed changes to BPR, their main option would have been to sell one of their company’s three sites to a foreign-owned competitor. Although we welcome foreign investment in this country, it does nothing for our sovereignty, growth or innovation when the proceeds and hard work of British-built companies end up as profits in other countries. After the announcement in December, I was delighted to hear from the owner, Kynan Massey, who thanked this Government for listening and for adapting the BPR thresholds. He told me that the recent change means that the business has the confidence to continue to invest, including with a £2 million investment to grow the capacity of its site in my constituency.

Gazegill farm in my constituency has been in the same family for 500 years and has an estimated value of just over £4 million. It employs 39 full-time equivalents through its organic farm, its award-winning restaurant Eight at Gazegill—I recommend that everyone visiting Lancashire should try it out; it is the best farm-to-fork experience in the country—and its growing farm shop. Emma and Ian, who run Gazegill, are the perfect example of ambitious and innovative company owners, working hard to regenerate and bring new employment and tourism to parts of Lancashire that will really benefit from new investment. The new changes to APR will allow them to push ahead with that investment, including by building a new farm shop later this year.

If we are serious about supporting small businesses across our regions, about local sustainable economies and about improving the health of this country, farms like Gazegill are exactly the type of companies we should support to grow. I wholly support Government amendment 24 to ensure significant protection and support for business owners like Emma and Ian and all the incredible farms in Ribble Valley, which I am so proud to represent.

[Carla Lockhart]

I rise to speak about the changes to agricultural property relief and business property relief in clause 62 and schedule 12. I do so having stood shoulder to shoulder with farmers from my constituency of Upper Bann, from across Northern Ireland and from across this entire United Kingdom; they have lobbied, protested and spoken with one voice in defence of their livelihoods and their family farms since the tax grab was announced. It has been my greatest honour to come alongside and fight this battle with them. It is because of their persistence that we have seen any movement at all from this Government.

While I acknowledge that the increase in the inheritance tax threshold to £2.5 million represents a concession, it is a hard-won one. It was not offered freely; it was forced by the strength and unity of the farming community and by the courage of the minority on the Back Benches of the Labour party. Even so, it remains wholly insufficient and fails to address the fundamental unfairness that remains embedded in the Bill.

Ultimately, we on the DUP Benches—indeed, Members rights across the Ulster Benches—want to see this policy scrapped in totality. That is why I support amendment 3 and the linked amendments 4 to 23, which would delay the commencement of these changes to 1 March 2027. Farming families planned succession responsibly and in good faith under the rules as they stood; changing those rules mid-stream is unjust and destabilising, and it undermines confidence across the entire sector.

Oral Answers to Questions

Maya Ellis Excerpts

Tuesday 4th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Dan Tomlinson]

I would be happy to meet the hon. Member and Members from across Cornwall to discuss the issues raised in the letter to the Chancellor.

[Maya Ellis (Ribble Valley) (Lab)]

As the Minister has just highlighted, the main argument against the CenTax proposals for APR now seems to be a fear that more people will be subject to inheritance tax under those proposals, even though most of those extra people are essentially private homeowners with agricultural fields. Does he agree that Labour values call for supporting hard-working farmers, who are the backbone of this country, over millionaire homeowners who have money in their wider estate to pay the inheritance tax?

[Dan Tomlinson]

I thank my hon. Friend for her question, and for her time last week—it was good to meet her to talk about important issues affecting farmers and rural communities. On balance, the Government believe that the policy position that was set out at last year’s Budget is the right one, and we will be continuing with it.

Farming and Inheritance Tax

Maya Ellis Excerpts

Wednesday 4th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Maya Ellis (Ribble Valley) (Lab)]

I represent Ribble Valley in Lancashire, one of the most beautiful constituencies in the country and one of the most rural. There are 820 farms on my patch, including 121 dairy farms. I single out dairy farmers as probably the most passionate and dedicated farmers I have encountered.

The problem with this motion is that it ignores the wider context of what is happening in our rural economies, and I will briefly talk about how remarkable those rural communities are. Not only are our farmers vital to our food security, but they often do the intangible work that we do not see on a local authority balance sheet, including gritting and clearing smaller roads that councils cannot get to in winter, and maintaining all those beautiful countryside walking routes that we all enjoy for much-needed rest. There are endless examples of how farmers are the best examples of the community spirit that we are rightly so proud of in this country.

I will share a quick story about a farm company in my constituency called Butlers farmhouse cheeses. Butlers produces the famous Blacksticks blue cheese and, I believe, is the second largest producer of cheese in the UK. Last year it suffered a devastating fire that completely destroyed its packing and logistics hub. Remarkably, the company rebuilt a whole building in a few weeks by using all of its supplier networks, and that was based on the faith and goodwill that farming communities engender. Butlers was able to retain the 95 staff it had, as well as supporting jobs in 20 to 30 local suppliers. These are the kinds of farms we are supporting, and we must ensure that our strategies work for them in the long term. Butlers is a fourth-generation farm that would not be back on its feet today without the relationships and trust that are so embedded in our rural communities.

I am excited for what Westminster can do, and is doing, for farmers. We can provide clarity on the mission. One of the best things about this new Labour Government is our focus on overall missions for this country, to be able to be clear to farmers and farming communities about exactly what this Labour Government plan to achieve over this decade of national renewal, with a clear ask for farmers on how they can contribute to that mission and how they can benefit. I heard about the need for such clarity time and again while campaigning. For years, farmers lacked clarity under the Conservative party, and they desperately need it.

[Danny Kruger (East Wiltshire) (Con)]

I fully recognise how much the hon. Lady wants to serve her new constituents, and I hope she is right. Does she recognise how difficult it will be for farmers in her constituency, as it will be in mine, to pay the inheritance tax? Land values are very high and the abstract capital value can be in the tens of thousands, but the income that an acre of land generates can be in the hundreds, so there is an enormous disjunct between the value of the land in the abstract, as far as His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs is organised, and the actual money that the farm will generate. How does she think that farmers in her constituency are going to pay the inheritance tax?

[Maya Ellis]

I will come on to opportunities to increase the prosperity of farmers, which should be our mission.

The second opportunity for farmers is around procurement and trade, and using the Government’s own purchasing power to back British produce, so that 50% of food brought into hospitals, Army bases and prisons is locally produced. We can protect farmers from being undercut by low welfare and low standards in trade deals, and we are seeking a new veterinary agreement with the EU to get our exports moving.

I want to touch on devolution and its ability to empower local understanding. Anyone who lives in a rural community knows that part of its strength is a deep generational knowledge of the land and local area. Nowhere is that more evident than in generational farming. Indeed, it is that knowledge, passed down through generations and trained into children from the time they can walk, that ensures some of the efficiencies that keep our farms going. I am a huge advocate for devolution, especially for areas such as Lancashire, where Ribble Valley is located, that include vast rural areas, because it brings democracy and understanding closer to communities. That is a huge issue that the Government are progressing at pace in order to do right by rural communities.

I am grateful to all the farmers who have been having open conversations with me about how past and future policy has and could affect them. Any new Government will take some time to unpick how relationships have worked in the past, and how they might want to change them. I came to Westminster as someone who is passionate about local leadership and devolution, and there is much that this Government can do to help farmers by taking decisions.

[Carla Lockhart (Upper Bann) (DUP)]

The hon. Lady is making an eloquent speech about farming and the importance of farmers to our communities; they undertake roles such as gritting the roads and cutting our hedges, as well as feeding the nation we live in. She talks about devolution. Does she agree that the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs of Northern Ireland has said that one third of farmers will be impacted by the agricultural property tax, with 75% of our dairy farmers being the hardest hit? The policy is not working. Stop the family farm tax grab.

[Maya Ellis]

If the hon. Lady will allow me, I will come to how we can help the farmers who will be affected by the measures.

To finish my point about devolution, as an MP in an area with huge extents of rural economy, it is critical to me that devolution reflects our rural areas as much as our metropolitan ones. I look forward to seeing how the upcoming devolution White Paper addresses that challenge. Town and parish councils really understand our rural communities and can play a bigger role in local democracy.

[Sir John Hayes]

The hon. Lady is making an interesting speech, and I am grateful for it. She is right that we should import less food and use Government procurement to help with that, and she is right about the inter-generational quality of family farms. Will she acknowledge that, in delivering the kind of food security that her speech implies, we cannot have the most productive farmland eaten up by large-scale solar developments and housing? We need to protect our grade 1, 2 and 3 land for the very reason she gave, because that allows us to deliver the food security that she and I both want.

[Maya Ellis]

As the Minister pointed out, many farms will not be affected by the measure and it will not have the impact that Opposition Members are leading people to believe.

We have an opportunity to support our farmers, as I touched on in my response to the hon. Member for Upper Bann (Carla Lockhart). I have sat down with farmers in my community and worked through the issues. They have taken their own tax advice. For example, there is a farm in my constituency that is worth around £3.6 million, so it will be liable for around £12,000 a year in inheritance tax over 10 years. However, if we are able to increase that farmer’s profits by £20,000 a year, by reducing energy prices, increasing British-supplied procurement so that 50% of public sector food comes from those farms, and providing a better health service that ensures all members of the family can be strong and well to work, that is the opportunity. Yes, we need to make our tax structures work better—that is fixing the foundations—but the real aim and prize is increasing the opportunity for farmers, so that they have the stability, investment and real sense of purpose and mission that allows them not just to survive, but to thrive.

[Robin Swann (South Antrim) (UUP)]

On that point, will the hon. Lady give way?

--- Later in debate ---

[Maya Ellis]

I am sorry, but I will not. I spoke earlier about the strength and efficiencies in family farming. From everything that I have seen and heard from farmers so far, it is clear that while valuing embedded ways of working and learning is important, there is also much appetite for innovation and doing things better.

[Mr Richard Holden (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)]

Will the hon. Lady give way?

[Maya Ellis]

I will not, as I want to make progress. Just look at how farmers have led the way in restoring biodiversity and are diversifying into all sorts of new business ventures. The industry is not scared of change or opportunity, but much of it relies on and is driven by what Government determine is important through subsidies and trade agreements. After 14 years of uncertainty about what Government want from farmers, we must and will do better.

Our farms are the lifeblood of this country, along with nurses, teachers, and, yes, train drivers. I know that farmers in my constituency of Ribble Valley are ready to do their bit to tackle the dire situation in which we find this country. I do not know a group more ready to pull up their sleeves and muck in than that lot. We, as a Government, are meeting that energy and have a similar level of ambition, vision and commitment. We are looking at how these pillars of our community can work with us to achieve what we all strive for: greater prosperity for every person in this country.

[Mr Holden]

On that point, will the hon. Lady give way?

[Maya Ellis]

I am sorry, but I will not.

The motion tabled by the Conservatives today is not clear or specific on what they would do differently to fix the economy. That, along with the continual lack of clarity and consistency on rural and farming policy when they were in power, suggests that they never had a vision of how they would support these communities well. It is easy to criticise; it is far harder to come up with a long-term vision and do the hard graft to make it a reality.

I will be voting with the Government today, but not because we do not need to push for more understanding of rural communities in Westminster. Generally in the UK, we need a better understanding of the role that farms and rural communities play in our culture and potential prosperity, across all parties and among those who work for us. I am voting with the Government today because we can better push for that change with a Labour Government, as part of a wider plan to improve things for everyone—a plan that is truly ambitious for this country and makes the brave call to take the hard, unpopular decisions now, so that in 10 years something has actually got better for everyone. I would far rather have that than a Government who go for popular headlines today, but to find that in 10 years’ time we are still facing the same challenges that we always did, and that they are getting worse.

I have a lot of faith that tomorrow, and over coming months, this Labour Government will set out an exceptionally clear and visionary plan for what our rural economies mean to Britain. We will respect them and make the most of them by providing long-term stability and a clear route for farmers to contribute to our national missions, and to benefit from them. Anyone who has waited 14 years for a Labour Government to come in and start to tackle the fact that a quarter of our children are living in poverty knows that getting the result they want takes time and hard work. We have been in desperate need of grown-ups to tackle what is coming down the line. I trust this Labour Government to do that and I will work hard with them to get it right.

Finally, I pay tribute to all the incredible farmers across Ribble Valley for continuing the conversation with me, so that we can build the strongest possible vision for farming and the rural economy in the UK.