Inheritance tax concern mounts

Inheritance tax concern mounts

28 May 2025

A FARMERS’ group has welcomed the increasing momentum for the campaign of opposition to the Labour government’s controversial inheritance tax scheme.

Farmers For Action’s Steering Committee says it’s important that family farmers across Northern Ireland and the UK should take some comfort from he fact that many farm organisations have come together “to keep the pot boiling” against the scheme.

The group’s local representative, Ronnie Murphy, said meetings and zoom calls are ongoing with plan to maintain pressure so the “dreadful tax” that has so far cost lives and will cost farms is stopped before being passed into law next spring. 

He said the London tractor protests served their purpose to bring the message to everyone in government in Westminster. 

“The tractor protests have been followed by many local tractor protests in England in areas where Labour MPs have taken rural seats and they have been left in no uncertain terms that they will be one-trip ponies unless this tax is reversed,” said Mr Murphy.

“That said, our information is that there is a lot of internal disagreement within the labour party, so far not coming out publicly.”

Mr Murphy said it must be remembered that Labour has a huge majority which, he argued, is not good for democracy, with many of the MPs in that majority “rookies” that have put other parties out of their traditional rural seats and they will fall into line very easily with party policy until they gain some experience with time. 

He said creating fear amongst these particular MPs that they will lose their seats if they continue to support Labour’s inheritance tax policy must be drilled home.

Mr Murphy said while the odds of Labour reversing its policy are slim, it’s important that farming families realise that cross-arm organisation planning is currently being designed to turn the screw to the maximum by lobbying and upscaled protests as the year proceeds.