Inside the political battles over the 'farm tax' vote, as Sir Keir Starmer confronted by Labour dissent

The issue saw farmers protesting in Westminster

A Scottish Tory MP has called on Labour politicians to “do what is best for farming and food security” by voting to scrap the “family farm tax”.

The Conservatives will force a vote on Wednesday over Labour’s plans, which would see combined business and agricultural assets worth more than £1 million being taxed at 20 per cent from April 2026.

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Harriet Cross urged the Government to change courseHarriet Cross urged the Government to change course
Harriet Cross urged the Government to change course | Scottish Conservatives

The motion, tabled during the Opposition Day debate, comes as Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer faces mounting dissent within his party, with up to 60 Labour MPs expected to abstain.

Speaking on Tuesday, Harriet Cross, the Gordon and Buchan MP, said: “I and my Conservative colleagues will stand with our family farmers and vote against Labour’s family farm tax.

“This vote is an opportunity for Labour MPs to put party politics aside and do what is best for farming and the UK’s food security. Since announcing the family farm tax, Keir Starmer has shown a despicable lack of empathy to our nation’s farmers.

“Now is the time for Labour to show they have finally listened to North East farmers, who have been betrayed and can no longer invest, while some will have to sell their farms that have been producing for generations.

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“Labour MPs must choose - will they save the family farm or turn their backs on rural communities by bowing down to Keir Starmer’s cruel and shameful demands?”

At Prime Minister’s Questions last week, Ms Cross told how Sarah Wordie and her farming family, based near Huntly in Aberdeenshire, have been left “distraught” by the proposals.

A petition from the Conservatives urging Labour to ditch the proposals has now gathered more than 175,000 signatures. It comes as a poll found more than half of rural voters trust Labour less after the UK Budget.

Victoria Vyvyan, president of the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), said the decision to impose a 20 per cent inheritance tax on some farms “threatens business viability and the future of our rural communities”.

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She said: “The government promised growth, and to be the ‘party of the countryside’, but you can’t tax your way to prosperity. Trust, once lost, is hard to win back. Can Labour regain it? Only with a sincere apology, real action and a clear commitment to the rural economy.

“Anything less and the damage could be irreversible.”

Her comments follow the publication of a poll, commissioned by the CLA, that showed 23 per cent of Labour voters in the countryside were now unhappy with their decision, while 48 per cent said they were still happy.

Some 57 per cent said the decision to impose inheritance tax on some farms had led them to trust Labour less, while 61 per cent said the party was breaking its promise to “end the decline of our countryside”.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed previously told the CLA he had “heard the anguish of the countryside”, while the Prime Minister met the president of the National Farmers’ Union on Monday to discuss the issue. But so far the government has insisted it will not reverse course.

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