Why Herefordshire farmers are angry about inheritance tax

Nicky Robinson from Ledbury is a fourth generation farmer (Image: ROB DAVIES) Until now, farms have been exempt from inheritance tax. But in the autumn budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that this would apply to farms worth more than £1 million from April 2026.

Angry farmers headed to London on Tuesday (November 19) from around the UK, including thousands from Herefordshire, to protest the changes. 

Farmers have been left feeling devastated by the proposed changes (Image: ROB DAVIES) Ali Parker, the National Farmers’ Union’s (NFU) Herefordshire adviser, was among those to go to the capital to lobby MPs to reverse the policy.

She said: “Thousands of Herefordshire farmers descended on London to come together and stand united to highlight the devastating impact the new family farm tax will have. During the day a group of NFU members went to visit our MPs, and we had a commitment from the North Herefordshire MP that she will write to the chancellor to ask that an independent assessment of how the figures have been reached is carried out. Others attended a fantastic peaceful rally to show the Chancellor and Prime Minister that this is not going away.

“Thank you to all the farmers who have supported and to those who instead attended local events. We hope government have listened today, but this is likely just the start. We will need everyone’s support to continue for the days, weeks and months to come.”

Children were asked to lead the rally on toy tractors to show the effect the policy has on the next generation. The girl who is holding the banner is Florence Harris, a Herefordshire dairy farmer’s daughter. (Image: Ali Parker) The London rally was organised by Herefordshire farmer Martin Williams, who said on Sky News: “This isn’t a war. This is just a dialogue we’re asking for, and I think that’s only fair. We’re only asking the government to listen.”

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A rally was also held here in Herefordshire, at the Ross-on-Wye auction centre.

David Edwards, Ellie Lovell and Lucie Hammond spoke at the rally organised by Emma Mapp and Emma Humphreys (Image: ROB DAVIES) One of the speakers was Lucie Hammond of Hazelwood Accounting, who highlighted the financial implications of the inheritance tax. She said: “The average farm is 200 acres, meaning it is worth £2 million plus, and likely closer to £3 or £4 million depending on where it is. Farmers could go from paying £0 in inheritance tax to somewhere in the region of £500,000. A lot of farms are not making money.”

The crowd at the rally (Image: ROB DAVIES) Every farm is different, and so it is difficult to get a sense of the true effect these changes will have.

Arguments are swirling back and forth on how many farms will be affected, with the government claiming no more than a few hundred farms will feel the brunt and the NFU saying the changes could be the death knell for the family farm.

And there is huge uncertainty over how many farms will be expected to pay up, as the Treasury says that only 27 per cent of farms would be unaffected, while Defra’s figures show that 66 per cent are over £1 million in net worth and would be hit by the plans.

Emotion hung heavy in the air at the rally, as farmers reflected on the effects the changes could have (Image: ROB DAVIES) This lack of clarity is one of the biggest problems, according to Farmers Weekly young farmer of the year Ellie Lovell, who argues the budget has been ill-considered.

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Mrs Lovell told the Hereford Times at the Ross-on-Wye rally: “To be blunt, the budget is completely wrong. The government have not considered where our food comes from. The thought we could have to give up our farm is unthinkable.”

Ellie Lovell, young farmer of the year, was one of those to speak at the event (Image: ROB DAVIES) As well as being named young farmer of the year for 2024, Mrs Lovell, of Tack Farm, Bromyard, is a chartered accountant.

The local rally was organised by Emma Humphreys and Emma Mapp. Mrs Humphreys, a farmer’s daughter and farmer’s wife, said: “My biggest concern is food security. If farms go, where is our food going to come from?”

Emma Humphreys organised the rally (Image: ROB DAVIES) Another farmer to speak out at the rally was David Edwards of Edwards Seaweed, Little Hereford.

He said: "Everything you eat and drink is produced by farmers and everything relates to farmers.

"Farmers are not going to be able to produce enough food, and development can't happen without income, meaning farms may not be able to expand and invest. This will affect so many people, including vets, lorry drivers, supermarkets and more.”

Hundreds turned out at the Ross-on-Wye rally (Image: ROB DAVIES) Our farming community’s biggest fear is that if they are forced to sell land, the country’s food security could be in jeopardy.

We all need to back our local farmers by writing to MPs (Image: ROB DAVIES) This is why the Hereford Times is asking readers to get behind our local farmers and write to Herefordshire’s MPs asking them to put pressure on the Treasury to reconsider the inheritance tax policy.

If you live in Hereford or South Herefordshire, write to Jesse Norman by emailing jesse.norman.mp@parliament.uk or via post: Suite 2a, Penn House, Broad Street, Hereford, HR4 9AP.

Ellie Chowns, North Herefordshire MP, has already committed to writing to the Treasury, but you can continue to share concerns about inheritance tax by emailing ellie.chowns.mp@parliament.uk.