Blunkett Tells Burnham to Listen to Countryside Over Farm Tax
Lord Blunkett has said the inheritance tax on farms was "a mistake" and urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham to listen more to the countryside.
Lord Blunkett, the former Labour home secretary, was speaking at the launch of a Countryside Alliance campaign for a "rural reset". He hired Mr Burnham as his aide in Parliament in 2004. His remarks add a Labour voice to criticism that has followed the policy since it was announced BBC.
The policy charges 20% on inherited farm assets worth more than £2.5m. It came into force in April. It ended an exemption farms had held since the 1980s.
Ministers announced the tax in last year's Budget under Keir Starmer. The rate is half the standard 40% inheritance tax rate. The threshold was first set at more than £1m. It was raised to £2.5m in December after sustained lobbying from farming unions and opposition parties.
The government said it was "determined to rebuild trust" with farmers. Ministers said most estates were unaffected by the change.
The detail lies in the reform of Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief, the tax breaks for farm and business assets, from 6 April 2026 GOV.UK. The 100% relief on the combined value of qualifying property is limited to £2.5m for deaths on and after 6 April 2026. A married couple or civil partners can pass on a farm worth up to £5.65m tax-free, according to the December update GOV.UK. The changes were first announced in the Budget on 30 October.
Lord Blunkett also said the government's planned ban on trail hunting, where hounds follow an artificial scent, was a mistake. He said the practice was "doing no harm". Labour first announced the planned ban in its 2024 election manifesto.
Former Prime Minister Lord Cameron used stronger language at a Countryside Alliance event in Westminster on Monday, 14 September. He called the farm inheritance tax "stupid" and the trail hunting ban "completely wrong".
Lord Blunkett said around 135 Labour MPs hold rural or semi-rural seats. Labour's 2024 intake included members for market towns, upland fringes and commuter villages where the farm tax and hunting are local issues. Farm seats are no longer held only by the Conservatives.
Mr Burnham authorised £65 million ($88 million) in extra funding for drought-hit farmers after the driest July Reuters. The payment was presented as emergency support. It did not alter the tax position.
Neither Lord Blunkett nor Lord Cameron proposed another way to raise the money. The government has not indicated a further change to the threshold or rate.
The broader context here is fiscal rather than purely rural. UK tax was projected to reach 37% of GDP in 2026, the highest since 1948, and Labour and Mr Burnham have ruled out raising the rates of the four biggest taxes Reuters. From April 2027, the three-year target to balance the budget will shift to 2030/31. The figure of 135 MPs helps explain unease in Westminster. In that squeeze, reliefs worth billions are hard for any chancellor to leave alone, while raising thresholds eases pressure without reversing the principle. For advisers, the £2.5m allowance and the £5.65m figure for couples are now the working numbers for succession planning, not the £1m starting point from last autumn.
