Inheritance tax reform exploded back into the spotlight at the CLA Rural Business Conference, as new president Gavin Lane warned ministers they risk ripping the foundations out from under family farms.
Speaking to more than 500 rural delegates, Mr Lane used his first speech as CLA president to accuse ministers of a “fundamental misunderstanding of how family businesses work” and of treating intergenerational transfer as a problem instead of the backbone of rural investment.
With Defra Secretary Emma Reynolds and Farming Minister Dame Angela Eagle in the audience, he said the government appeared to be “absorbing economic theories about wealth inequality without grasping that breaking up family businesses could destroy the very stability we need to solve national challenges”.
Lane warned that uncertainty surrounding the planned overhaul of inheritance tax was already stalling essential investment across the rural economy.
“The central contradiction any government cannot escape,” he said, “is that they need you to invest, to grow, and to provide solutions — yet their current position demands they strip you of the intergenerational stability that makes that investment possible.
"You cannot ask people to pay to plant an orchard they'll never see grow, then tell them their children aren’t allowed to pick the fruit.”
He also criticised the sudden closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), arguing that members had demonstrated over three decades in environmental schemes that they were “trusted partners” capable of delivering nature recovery at scale.
Turning to water security, Lane said at the CLA Rural Business Conference that he did not believe government had “woken up to the impending crisis of water demand”, calling for a national push on irrigation reservoirs and natural flood management.
He also highlighted the role of rural businesses in driving healthier diets, renewable energy, local jobs and environmental recovery, stressing: “When your businesses thrive, your communities thrive — jobs created, services maintained, landscapes managed, nature restored.”
He urged ministers to set ideology aside and work with landowners rather than against them. “This government, or any other, needs to look beyond the dogma and see what private landowners can achieve. It isn’t a fight worth having when working together provides long-term solutions.”
Reynolds: "When rural Britain succeeds, the whole country succeeds"
Defra Secretary Emma Reynolds responded by emphasising her intention to work in partnership with the sector, acknowledging past tensions. “This government sees the rural economy as absolutely fundamental to our growth mission,” she said. “When rural Britain succeeds, the whole country succeeds.”
She said her vision was for “a countryside with thriving businesses, where good jobs are created and communities flourish,” and that SFI reform would be “evolution, not revolution”. Reynolds admitted mistakes had been made with the scheme’s abrupt closure and promised greater clarity.
The Secretary of State also confirmed progress on pressing policy areas. On water, she said Defra was working to “clarify planning practice” to make on-farm reservoirs easier to deliver.
She praised the sector’s high production standards and outlined work under way to tackle rural crime, biosecurity threats, digital connectivity gaps and the shortage of affordable rural housing.
Reynolds also highlighted measures to boost productivity ahead of the Batters Review, including opening new export markets, implementing ‘Fair Dealings’ supply-chain rules, delivering nearly £250 million in farm productivity grants, and appointing Alan Laidlaw as the new Tenant Farming Commissioner.
She concluded by reaffirming her commitment to collaboration: “I want to work in partnership with you to unlock the huge growth potential of rural businesses.”
Looking ahead, industry groups say the upcoming budget and SFI relaunch will now be the next major tests of whether government is willing to match its words with meaningful action.
