Family farms and long-established rural businesses are facing renewed uncertainty as MPs prepare to debate controversial inheritance tax reforms in the House of Commons this week.
The Finance Bill returns to parliament for its second reading on Tuesday (16 December), marking a key moment for proposals that farming groups warn are already affecting investment and succession planning across the countryside.
With the deeply controversial legislation moving forward for an April 2026 roll out, rural organisations are urging business owners to contact their MPs to spell out the financial and personal consequences of the changes.
The second reading is the first opportunity for MPs to debate the overall principles of a bill. The discussion will be opened by a Treasury minister, followed by contributions from opposition spokespeople and backbench MPs.
Although no amendments can be made at this stage, the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) says the debate is a vital chance to highlight the scale of concern within the rural economy.
The association has been briefing MPs ahead of the debate, focusing on the impact of the proposals on family-run enterprises, where uncertainty over inheritance tax liabilities is already influencing long-term decisions on borrowing, expansion and generational handover.
“Across the country, family businesses have been reducing their investment, at an enormous cost to the economy and the British public,” said CLA president Gavin Lane.
He warned that “it is not too late for the chancellor to scrap the entire policy, and finally recognise the enormous value family-owned businesses bring to the UK”.
Political unease over the proposals has already surfaced at Westminster. When MPs voted last to allow the Finance Bill to continue its passage, more than 35 Labour MPs abstained, citing concerns about the distress the inheritance tax changes are causing in rural communities. Farming groups see those abstentions as evidence that support for the measures is far from settled.
A vote will follow Tuesday’s debate on whether the bill should proceed. This is expected to pass, even among MPs with reservations, in order to allow the wider package of measures to move forward.
More detailed scrutiny will take place after Christmas during the committee and report stages, when MPs will be able to table and vote on amendments. Farming groups believe this phase will be critical in shaping the final form of the legislation and in pressing for concessions.
Campaigners are therefore continuing to urge farmers and landowners to engage directly with their MPs, arguing that personal accounts of uncertainty and financial strain could influence future votes.
With the bill set to return to the Commons in the new year, attention is now turning to whether those MPs who abstained will ultimately oppose the proposals outright.
