Incoming inheritance tax reforms risk “breaking up farms” and weakening the agricultural sector, the chair of parliament’s Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee has warned, as concerns mount over policy.
Speaking at an event in London today (4 December) hosted by political consultancy Whitehouse Communications, Alistair Carmichael MP said the proposed changes could force families to sell or divide farms, undermining resilience in a sector dominated by long-established family businesses.
Carmichael, who represents Orkney and Shetland and grew up in a farming family, criticised what he called a “tax-first, purpose-later” approach that overlooked real-world consequences for agriculture.
He told attendees that “if your inheritance tax bill is going to break up the farm, then something has gone very wrong,” adding that farmers needed a framework based on “honest discussion – not administrative guesswork.”
Carmichael warned that a lack of coherent government strategy on food security, land use and environmental delivery was leaving producers exposed to growing pressures.
He highlighted the continuing impacts of the war in Ukraine, renewed rhetoric on tariff barriers from US President Donald Trump, and longstanding weaknesses in the UK’s own production base.
Citing recent modelling from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Science and Technology in Agriculture, he said output could fall by as much as 32% by 2050 without decisive intervention.
“Food security is national security,” he said, arguing that delayed support schemes such as the Sustainable Farming Incentive had left producers “waiting, again, for clarity that never arrives.”
He said too many decisions within Defra lacked recognition of their long-term implications for domestic food production, describing the department as suffering from a “fundamental lack of strategic vision.”
Looking ahead, he identified the 2026 review of the UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) as a major challenge, particularly the debate over dynamic alignment rules and their impact on future market access.
The discussion brought together stakeholders from across the food, farming and environmental sectors. Chris Whitehouse, chair of Whitehouse Communications, stressed the importance of informed, cross-sector dialogue, saying the event highlighted the complexity of pressures facing the food system.
He added that “bringing stakeholders together to examine these issues is a core part of our work… to help shape constructive, future-focused policy thinking for the public good.”
