Budget Resolution No. 50: Inheritance tax (limiting agricultural and business property reliefs etc)

Parliament voted on 2 December 2025 to pass Budget Resolution No. 50, which limits Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) from inheritance tax. The resolution passed by 327 votes to 182. These reliefs have historically allowed farms and family businesses to be transferred between generations free of inheritance tax; the resolution caps them, meaning larger estates will face tax liability on transfer that was previously avoided. The practical effect is to restrict an inheritance tax exemption that critics of the change say has allowed the wealthiest landowners and business owners to pass on significant assets untaxed. Going forward, qualifying agricultural and business property above the new cap will be subject to inheritance tax on transfer. Supporters argue this closes a loophole that benefits large estates disproportionately; opponents argue it threatens genuinely family-run farms and smaller businesses, potentially forcing heirs to sell productive assets to meet a tax bill. Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs voted almost unanimously in favour, providing the government's majority. The Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Scottish National Party, Reform UK, Democratic Unionist Party, and Plaid Cymru all voted against, forming a broad but ultimately unsuccessful cross-party opposition. Two of the four Green MPs voted no, with one voting aye. One Labour MP voted against the government. The vote sits within a cluster of contested Budget and Finance Bill divisions in late 2025 and early 2026, including committee votes on related Finance (No. 2) Bill clauses in January 2026.