Conservatives have launched a campaign to protect South Gloucestershire farmers after the government announced changes to inheritance tax rules for agricultural land and property. The opposition group has tabled a motion to a meeting of full council urging the Lib Dem/Labour administration to take up the fight and call on Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves to reverse the decision announced in October’s Budget.
From April 2026, tax will be paid for the first time on inherited farmland and farm buildings worth more than £1million. The National Farmers’ Union said it would force farmers to sell off land, while TV star Jeremy Clarkson, who runs Diddly Squat farm in Chipping Norton, last month joined a mass protest in London against the policy.
The Country Land and Business Association said an estimated 70,000 of estates could now be liable to pay tax. But Labour’s Environment Secretary Steve Reed and Downing Street have said only 500 farms would be affected.
Cllr Matthew Riddle (Conservative, Severn Vale) has tabled a golden motion to a full council meeting of South Gloucestershire Council which will be debated on Wednesday, December 18, calling on the Lib Dem/Labour coalition to write to the government asking for the changes to be ditched and to retain the current tax relief on agricultural land and assets. It also asks the council to agree that the new policy will be harmful to farming communities in the district and that the local authority should oppose it.
Cllr Riddle said: “The Conservative group is firmly opposed to the government’s plan to restrict inheritance tax relief on farmland and other farming business assets, and we stand shoulder to shoulder with members of the local farming community who will be affected. We are urging the Lib Dem/Labour coalition to respond to these serious concerns and show that they are willing to put the interests of our rural communities above party politics.
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“I sincerely hope that Lib Dem and Labour councillors support our motion as it will send out a positive message to local farmers that the council is on their side.” In October, South Gloucestershire Council cabinet received an update on 12 months’ work by a cross-party scrutiny commission taskforce to explore ways the authority can better support farming communities.
The report highlighted the financial strain that local farmers faced, the unique challenges of running small family farms, and mental health problems. Cllr Riddle’s motion said: “The proposal announced by the government to restrict inheritance tax relief on farmland and other farming business assets, and the overwhelming opposition to the change from farming communities across the UK, was visibly demonstrated on November 19 when thousands of people took part in a protest in London.
“In the South West, farming contributes around £1.6billion to the regional economy and directly employs more than 66,00 people. The National Farmers’ Union has called on the government to ‘overturn the family farm tax’ and said ‘If this tax change goes ahead, it will deal a hammer blow to farming families. After decades of tightening margins, record inflation, extreme weather and increased production costs, many farmers and growers are at breaking point, unable to absorb any more cost burden’.
“This council therefore proposes: That the leader and co-leader of the council write a joint letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer promoting the work of farmers across South Gloucestershire and the innovative ways they support communities and help tackle climate change, and expressing members’ opposition to the decision to change the rules on inheritance tax for farmers, with the instruction that the decision be immediately reversed and the current inheritance tax rules maintained; That council collectively agrees that the plan to restrict inheritance tax relief on farmland and other farming business assets will be harmful to farming communities in South Gloucestershire and that the council is opposed to the policy as a matter of principle.”