Nick Timothy, the MP for West Suffolk, hosted a round-table on Friday 13 December 2024 to hear from local farmers.
The meeting was held in the wake of mass protests at Westminster against the Government’s tax on family farms.
The Government announced measures in the Autumn Budget which will negatively impact farming and rural communities such as speeding up the delinking of payments, the introduction of a fertiliser tax and changes to Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR).
The changes to APR and BPR will mean that from 6 April 2026, the full 100 per cent relief from inheritance tax will be restricted to the first £1 million of combined agricultural and business property. Above this amount, farmers will pay inheritance tax at 20 per cent.
Attending the roundtable were farmers from all over West Suffolk.
Nick said after the 90 minute meeting: “I was delighted to host the roundtable with local farmers so I could hear their views about the challenging situation facing those who work so hard in West Suffolk to look after land, grow crops and produce food.
“We should be under no illusion. These changes will see family farms split up and sold off. We could see yet more farmland used for housing and unnecessary giant solar farms. This risks an increase in food prices, more food being imported and family farms being swallowed up by larger commercial enterprises. The National Farmers Union says three-quarters of farms will be impacted.
“I fear the Government is yet to grasp the severity of the situation — or perhaps it does not care. I’m proud to say that Kemi Badenoch has made clear that the next Conservative government will reverse this awful tax.”
Nick Timothy MP voted on 4 December in support of the Official Opposition’s motion which called to reverse the policy. See Hansard: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2024-12-04/debates/1A87905A-AD7B-48BF-8B71-026ECF87BF89/FarmingAndInheritanceTax
