The National Farmers Union is to hold a major Westminster rally next month after Rachel Reeves revoked farmland’s exemption from inheritance tax (IHT).

Farmers last demonstrated in London in March over food security fears (pictured)

The Chancellor defended her decision to reform the way death taxes affect farms amid fury from the industry and high-profile celebrities like Jeremy Clarkson and Kirsty Allsopp.

From April 2026, inheritance tax will be levied at an effective rate of 20 per cent on the value of business and agricultural assets over £1million.

Ms Allsopp was the most outspoken, accusing Ms Reeves of having ‘f***ed all farmers’ and ‘destroyed their ability to pass farms on to their children’.

And Mr Clarkson, who fronts the highly popular Clarkson’s Farm series following his rural travails in the Cotswolds,posted on X: ‘Farmers. I know that you have been shafted today. But please don’t despair. Just look after yourselves for five short years and this shower will be gone.’

Mr Bradshaw spoke of ‘the tension, the anger, the frustration’ among farming communities.

But Mr Reed said that the plans outlined in Wednesday’s Budget are a ‘fair and balanced approach that protects family farms while also fixing the public services those same families rely on’.

According to Budget papers, from April 2026 farmers will be able to claim a 100% relief from inheritance tax on the first £1 million of combined agricultural and business assets, falling to 50% beyond that.

The Government is ‘restricting the generosity of agricultural relief’ to make the inheritance tax system ‘fairer’.

Writing for The Daily Telegraph on Friday, Mr Reed said: ‘I completely understand farmers’ anxiety at any changes. But rural communities need a better NHS, affordable housing and public transport we can provide if we make the system fairer.

‘That is why the Labour Government has announced plans to reform agricultural property relief.

‘Only the richest estates will be asked to pay, not small, family farms as some misleading headlines have claimed.

‘Look at the detail and you’ll see that the vast majority of farmers will not be affected at all.

‘They will be able to pass the family farm down to their children just as previous generations have always done.’

After reading Mr Reed’s article, Mr Bradshaw said: ‘Looks like they’ve decided they’re going to double down, which I’m absolutely baffled by.’

Previously farmer’s families could claim up to 100 per cent APR on the agricultural value of the land they owned, with no threshold.

Campaigners warned that will affect almost all family farms, slamming the government for breaking ‘clear promises’ to protect the industry.

Ms Allsopp was the most outspoken, accusing Ms Reeves of having ‘f***ed all farmers’ and ‘destroyed their ability to pass farms on to their children’.

Meanwhile, Tory MPs warned that it would damage UK food security and hinder efforts to make farming more environmentally friendly.

The National Farmers’ Union predicted the change would ‘snatch away the next generation’s ability to carry on producing British food’ – and could lead to higher prices.

And the Country Land and Business Association said the move, from April 2026, would hit 70,000 farms – calling it ‘nothing short of a betrayal’ which would ‘jeopardise the future of rural businesses’.

Ms Allsopp said: ‘Rachel Reeves had f***ed all farmers, she has destroyed their ability to pass farms on to their children, and broken the future of all our great estates, it is an appalling decisions which shows the government has ZERO understanding of the what matters to rural voters.’

And Mr Clarkson, who fronts the highly popular Clarkson’s Farm series following his rural travails in the Cotswolds,posted on X: ‘Farmers. I know that you have been shafted today.

‘But please don’t despair. Just look after yourselves for five short years and this shower will be gone.’

But Downing Street is confident changes to inheritance tax on farms will not impact food security and insisted there was adequate financial support available to farmers.

Asked if ministers were confident the changes will not hurt food security, a No 10 spokeswoman this morning said: ‘Yes. We are committed to supporting farmers.

‘There is an increase in the agricultural budget, there is also an increase in environmental schemes that support sustainable farming and food production.

‘So, we would encourage farmers to get in contact where they have concerns so we can ensure everyone is receiving the support and schemes available to them, and also that they have the full details of how the agricultural property relief system works.’

The spokeswoman said the Government’s message was ‘clear that we are committed to supporting farmers’, adding: ‘It is expected that almost three-quarters of estates are expected to be unaffected by this.’

Lib dem leader Sir Ed Davey joined the chorus of those attacking the IHT raid today. Speaking on a visit to Maidenhead he said: ‘The Government is at risk of creating a lost generation of farmers. Young people will lose the opportunity to keep the farms their families have run for generations, while at the same time they are seeing government support for farming slashed.

‘Hitting British farmers who put food on our tables only risks making the cost-of-living crisis worse. After years of being taken for granted by the Conservative Party, rural communities should have been properly supported in this Budget.’

Meanwhile, Tory MPs warned that it would damage UK food security and hinder efforts to make farming more environmentally friendly.

The Budget also reduced cash for the Environment Land Management Scheme (Elms),  set up after Brexit to replace the EU Common Agricultural Policy, which subsidised measures including ‘local nature recovery’ habitat creation on farms.

Former minister George Freeman, the MP for Mid Norfolk, said: ‘Family farming is under attack from this government. The changes to APR will make it harder for family farmers of all sizes to pass on their proud agricultural tradition to the next generation.

‘How we manage our land is integral to tackling climate change, reversing biodiversity loss and ensuring our food security. But, combined with a trailed cut to the ELMS budget next year, the government is playing fast and loose with family farms, our environment, our food security, and the local rural economy.’

Patrick Spencer, the MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, said: ‘If Labour is serious about its pledges to protect the environment, farmers, and food security, it cannot go ahead with these changes to APR.

‘Farmers are the custodians of our countryside and their relationship with our land, unlike the Chancellor’s own economic whims, spans generations, not just news cycles. Cutting the nature-friendly farming budget next year, as implied in this Budget, would be a fool’s errand for a government supposedly wanting to fight climate change, protect nature, and support British farmers.

‘In her misguided attempt to ”tax the rich”, she risks delivering a major blow to Britain’s proud family farming tradition and the UK’s environmental ambitions.’