Opposition day: UK Farming and Inheritance Tax

What happened: On 4 December 2024, the House of Commons voted on a Conservative opposition day motion (a debate initiated by the main opposition party to scrutinise government policy) calling for the protection of family farms from the government's inheritance tax changes and for the maintenance of agricultural property relief. The motion was defeated by 339 votes to 181.

Why it matters: The vote concerned the government's October 2024 Budget decision to cap agricultural property relief (APR), a longstanding tax relief that had allowed farmland and farm businesses to be passed between generations without triggering inheritance tax. From April 2026, inherited agricultural and business assets above 1 million pounds will be subject to inheritance tax at an effective rate of 20 percent. Supporters of the motion argued this threatens the viability of family farms and food security. The government maintained that the current unlimited relief had been exploited by wealthy landowners and investors who were not working farmers, and that the change would only affect the largest estates.

The politics: The opposition motion united virtually all parties outside the government against the change. Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, the Scottish National Party, Reform UK, Plaid Cymru and the Democratic Unionist Party all voted in favour. All Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs who voted came down against, with no recorded rebels on the government side. The Greens split, with two voting against the motion alongside the government. This cross-opposition alignment reflected genuine rural anxiety but also the political opportunity the farming tax debate presented to opposition parties heading into a sustained campaign against the Budget measure, which continued through related Finance Bill votes in early 2025.