‘Look us in the eye’ – NFU challenges chancellor on farm IHT

NFU president Tom Bradshaw has challenged chancellor Rachel Reeves to “look us in the eye” and confirm the government’s plan to introduce a 20% inheritance tax on farms worth over £1m are justified.

Mr Bradshaw’s demand comes after repeated requests from the NFU and other farming groups for a face to face meeting with Ms Reeves were declined.

Despite the pressure, the chancellor has so far refused to engage with farming leaders about her government’s controversial inheritance tax (IHT) proposals, which are set to take effect from April 2026.

See also: PM doubles down on farm inheritance tax plans

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday 18 February, Mr Bradshaw expressed his mounting frustration, stating: “We are really cross today, we would all like to sit down with the chancellor.

“The chancellor should look us in the eyes and tell us she is right.”

At the NFU-hosted press conference in London, George Dunn, chief executive of the Tenant Farmers Association (TFA), revealed that Labour backbench MPs had confided in him that Ms Reeves was unwilling to meet with them either.

Mr Dunn condemned the chancellor’s approach, accusing her of showing “arrogance”.

Before the press conference, exchequer secretary James Murray and Defra farming minister Daniel Zeichner had met with Mr Bradshaw and representatives from other farming organisations.

Stakeholders included NFU Cymru, NFU Scotland (NFUS), the TFA, the Ulster Farmers’ Union the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), and the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers (CAAV).

The shared agricultural bodies had come prepared to discuss sensible changes to the proposed reform in the form of a “clawback” measure.

This would maintain agricultural and business property relief in their original form, if the farm business continued to be used and not sold on the death of the owner. 

Meeting ‘unproductive’

However, Mr Bradshaw described the meeting with the Treasury as “unproductive” adding: “Unfortunately today’s meeting has been a disappointment… there is no movement.”

Mr Dunn was equally disheartened, describing it as “one of the most unproductive meetings I’ve had in the 20 years, and that’s no exaggeration”.

CLA president Victoria Vyvyan echoed these sentiments, saying the Treasury’s failure to acknowledge the agricultural industry’s concerns demonstrated a lack of understanding.

“I looked around the room and I thought, I’m not sure there was anyone in the room who understood what a balance sheet was… they know nothing,” she said.

Future plans

Looking ahead, Mr Bradshaw stressed that the NFU would not back down in its fight to urge the government to rethink its IHT plans, which it has dubbed the “Family Farm Tax”.

“Our membership won’t let this go away, and we won’t let this go away,” Mr Bradshaw said.

He suggested that the upcoming Finance Bill in October/November would be a “critical moment for us”, explaining that the NFU would try to drum up enough political support to vote against the bill.

He added that public support would be key in applying pressure on the government, noting that “the support we have had has been overwhelming… I get the genuine anger and frustration that farmers are feeling today, but the public support is our way forward.”

Mr Dunn, too, pointed to political support as the next step, particularly from backbench Labour MPs. “We need to get more backbench Labour support… the battle continues,” he said.

Ms Vyvyan vowed that the farming industry would stay united, continuing to push against the proposed policy and noted that support is widespread.

“All politics is local… A lot of county councils have put motions through to support farming and the farming community,” she said.

“There is a lot of unrest out there, not just in the farming community… Food should never be low on the government’s agenda.”

Direct action

When asked if more direct action, like the 13 February protest in Buckinghamshire by Farmers To Action that forced Sir Keir Starmer to cancel a housing announcement, was necessary, Mr Bradshaw responded:

“I don’t believe cornering the prime minister is the right approach.”

He added that despite the challenges, he still believed there was an opportunity to change the policy, “We are not simply going to go away because they have said no again, we cannot go away.

“To all of those farmers that are angry, those backbench Labour MPs are absolutely the way through this.

“Go and meet your MP, take them the evidence of what this will mean for you, go and put forward your argument.”