The debate over APR and BPR is intensifying ahead of next month's autumn budget
Pressure is building on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to reverse controversial farm inheritance tax changes in the autumn budget on 28 October.
Shadow Defra minister Dr Neil Hudson has joined a letter led by shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins and Harriet Cross calling for reforms to Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) to be fully reversed.
The letter has been signed by Conservative politicians from Westminster, Holyrood and the Senedd and argues that the changes are adding to pressure on family farms and rural businesses.
Under the current rules, a ÂŁ2.5 million allowance applies to qualifying agricultural and business property receiving 100% relief, with 50% relief applying above that threshold.
Any unused allowance can be transferred between spouses or civil partners, meaning couples can potentially pass on up to ÂŁ5 million of qualifying agricultural and business assets before the reduced relief applies, alongside other inheritance tax allowances.
The reforms were originally proposed with a ÂŁ1 million threshold before this was increased to ÂŁ2.5 million following pressure from farming and business groups.
Despite the increase, Conservatives are continuing to press for the changes to be scrapped entirely.
Their letter describes the situation facing agriculture as a “once in a generation crisis” and says more than 6,000 agricultural businesses have ceased trading since the reforms were announced in October 2024.
It also claims three in five agribusinesses expect to cut capital investment by up to 20% as they prepare for possible future inheritance tax liabilities.
The Conservatives are urging the prime minister to reconsider the policy after saying he had previously indicated a willingness to look again at the changes.
Pressure is also coming from farming organisations.
The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) has urged the prime minister to honour his pre-election pledge to “look again” at changes to APR and BPR.
The union argues that the remaining tax liability is continuing to create uncertainty around succession and investment for some family farms.
Dr Hudson, MP for Epping Forest, has repeatedly opposed the reforms from the Conservative front bench and raised the issue again during a parliamentary debate this week.
Earlier this year, he joined Kemi Badenoch and Sir James Cleverly at an NFU roundtable at the Essex Young Farmers Centre, where the party reiterated its pledge to reverse the inheritance tax changes.
Dr Hudson said: “The farming sector is facing a once-in-a-generation crisis because of Labour's damaging Family Farm Tax.”
He also pointed to wider pressures affecting agriculture, including drought and bluetongue.
“More than 6,000 agricultural businesses across the country have ceased trading, and one in four family farms have already cut jobs, since these cruel inheritance tax changes were announced,” he said.
“If the prime minister doesn't change course, the consequences will be catastrophic. On top of this, farmers are facing huge challenges just now with the drought conditions and Bluetongue virus cases surging across the country.”
Dr Hudson argued that the debate also had implications for the resilience of domestic food production.
“Food security is national security. We cannot afford to put it at risk with this heartless tax that is devastating our hard-working farming sector,” he said.
He added: “The new prime minister should use his first budget to fully reverse the farming inheritance changes before it's too late.”
With the autumn budget approaching, pressure is likely to remain focused on whether the government will make further changes to APR and BPR or retain the revised ÂŁ2.5 million threshold.