Opposition day: UK Farming and Inheritance Tax
181Ayes
339Noes
Defeated · majority 158 · Government won126 did not vote
646 Members · Aye 181 · No 339 · DNV 126 · grey dots in centre are abstentions
Analysis
Commons
Commons
Parliament voted on 4 December 2024 on an Opposition Day motion brought by the Conservatives calling on the government to reverse its changes to agricultural property relief (APR), the inheritance tax relief available to farm businesses. From April 2026, the government plans to cap 100% APR at £1 million per individual, with estates above that threshold facing a 20% inheritance tax charge on the excess. The motion was defeated by 339 votes to 181. The vote matters because it marks the first formal parliamentary test of one of the most politically contentious measures in the October 2024 Budget. If the policy proceeds, farming families whose land and assets exceed the £1 million threshold will face inheritance tax bills that, critics argue, may force the sale of productive farmland to meet the liability. The government's position is that the reform is fair, targeting only the wealthiest agricultural estates while leaving smaller family farms unaffected. The division split almost entirely along party lines. All 299 voting Labour MPs and 33 Labour and Co-operative MPs opposed the motion, defeating it comfortably. The Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, SNP, Reform UK, Plaid Cymru and the DUP all voted in favour, forming a broad but ultimately outnumbered cross-party opposition. The Green Party's two voting members sided with the government. No Labour MP voted for the motion. The result reflects Labour's commanding Commons majority rather than any genuine parliamentary contest, and subsequent related divisions in March 2025 on the Finance Bill showed the same pattern holding.
Voting Aye meant
Support scrapping or reversing the inheritance tax changes for farms, arguing the policy threatens family farming businesses passed down through generations
Voting No meant
Oppose the motion, backing the government's inheritance tax reform as a fair measure that affects only the wealthiest estates while protecting smaller family farms
Each row is one party. The stacked bar gives the within-party split of Aye / No / Absent; the columns on the right give the raw counts. The whip column shows the published party position — “Free vote” means the whip was formally removed for this division.
Party
Whip
Aye / No / Abs
Aye
No
Abs
Labour Party
Whipped No
0
299
62
Conservative and Unionist Party
Whipped Aye
93
0
23
Liberal Democrats
Whipped Aye
62
0
9
Labour and Co-operative Party
Whipped No
0
33
9
Independent
—
5
5
4
Scottish National Party
Whipped Aye
8
0
1
Reform UK
Whipped Aye
6
0
1
Sinn Féin
—
0
0
7
Democratic Unionist Party
Whipped Aye
3
0
2
Green Party of England and Wales
—
0
2
2
Plaid Cymru
Whipped Aye
4
0
0
Social Democratic and Labour Party
—
0
0
2
Your Party
—
0
1
1
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
—
0
0
1
Restore Britain
—
0
0
1
Speaker
—
0
0
1
Traditional Unionist Voice
—
1
0
0
Ulster Unionist Party
—
1
0
0
Source · Hansard · UK Parliament Votes API · whip status from announced positions; “free vote” indicates the whip was formally removed
The inheritance tax changes will destroy family farming; government figures are wildly inaccurate and contradicted by professional valuers; policy represents betrayal of election promises and will force farms to sell land to non-farmers.Conservative · Voted aye · Read full speech (3,702 words) →
Reforms are necessary to fix the £22 billion fiscal hole; they maintain generous relief for family farms (£1m combined relief plus 50% relief above that); nearly three-quarters of farms claiming relief will pay no additional tax.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (4,738 words) →
While acknowledging prior Conservative failures on farming transitions, the inheritance tax policy is poorly designed and will harm family farms already struggling from scheme implementation failures; a working farm exemption should have been included.Liberal Democrat · Voted aye · Read full speech (3,066 words) →
Professional advice suggests 65% of small family farms in Northern Ireland will be affected; the government fundamentally misunderstands the impact of its policy.DUP · Voted aye · Read full speech (118 words) →
Labour government provides clarity and missions for farming; should use procurement power to back British farming and protect farmers from low-standard trade competition.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (2,102 words) →
Victoria Atkins's record as Health Secretary and Treasury Minister was destructive; the government is bringing stability to the economy and farmers' profitability.Labour · Voted no · Read full speech (110 words) →
The policy represents betrayal because both the Prime Minister and Secretary of State explicitly promised before the election that these changes would not be made.Conservative · Voted aye · Read full speech (619 words) →
The government failed to conduct proper impact assessment and did not consider alternative mechanisms like business roll-over relief that would target wealthier non-farmers; farmers aged near retirement need specific mitigations.Conservative · Voted aye · Read full speech (1,159 words) →
Sources
Division dataUK Parliament Votes API
DebateHansard · Commons
Stance analysisAI analysis · Claude 4.x
LicenceOpen Parliament Licence v3.0