The leader of South Holland District Council says it will look to challenge government plans to charge some farmers inheritance tax.
Conservative councillor Henry Bingham said he was one of those who recently joined farmers in demonstrating against measures being planned by the Labour government.
From April 6, 2026, farmers will have to pay 20 per cent inheritance tax on the first £1 million of combined agricultural and business property in instalments over a ten-year period.
They were previously exempt from the tax which is set at 40 per cent for other inheritance.
The government say it will affect around 500 farms in the country but groups such as the National Farmer’s Union say it will be more.
“It’s rare you see 20,000 farmers in one place all because of the inheritance tax on councils and business,” Coun Bingham told a meeting of South Holland District Council
“All previous governments have shown a lack of understanding of the countryside but only Labour has waged war on rural Britain.
“This government’s actions with inheritance tax will do more damage to rural Britain than any government before.
“We’re not talking big farms, we’re talking about family farms based on proper statistics from the NFU. It has the potential to cripple and further damage the sector and threaten food security.”
Coun Nick Worth, also a Conservative, said he would speak with the leaders of the other authorities in the South and East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership on writing to the government.
“It was an incredibly successful march and I’m sure it won’t be the last protest action we see,” he said.” “This area is dominated by farming and related industries.
“I think Labour have got their sums wrong and it will have a potential effect on this area.”
Conservative MP Sir John Hayes was also at the demonstration.
The Labour Government have betrayed farmers, growers and rural communities by introducing a tax on family farm,” he said. “Removing inheritance tax relief will make it harder for farmers to pass their holdings onto their children and grandchildren, meaning many will be forced to sell their farms.
“This matters so much to my constituents because so many of them are employed in food and farming businesses.
“The consequences of these changes for rural areas and our way of life will be enormous, with less land farmed, in turn making us more reliant on food imports undermining our country’s food security.”
