Opposition day: UK Farming and Inheritance Tax

Parliament voted on 4 December 2024 on an Opposition Day motion brought by the Conservative Party calling on the government to reverse its changes to agricultural property relief (APR), the tax break that allows farms to be passed on without inheritance tax. The motion was defeated by 339 votes to 181. Opposition Day motions do not themselves change the law, but they put the government on record and force MPs to declare their position publicly. The vote concerns a policy announced in the October 2024 Budget that, from April 2026, will cap the 100 per cent inheritance tax relief on agricultural property at £1 million per individual. Estates above that threshold will be taxed at a reduced rate of 20 per cent on the excess. Supporters of the motion argued the change threatens the financial viability of family farms that have been passed between generations, since farmland values are high relative to the income farms generate. The government argued the reform is fair because it targets only the wealthiest agricultural estates and smaller family farms will remain fully protected. The vote divided almost entirely along party lines. All 299 Labour MPs and 33 Labour and Co-operative MPs who voted opposed the motion, with no Labour members voting in favour. The Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, SNP, Reform UK, Plaid Cymru, and the DUP all voted for the motion. The Greens voted against alongside the government. The result placed the opposition parties in a broad but informal cross-party alliance against the reform, though the government's majority was never in doubt.