Family farms are an intrinsic part of our national identity and I have always worked to support our farmers who are the backbone of the rural economy as well as stewards of the British countryside. As many of you are aware, I come from a family with a strong farming background myself and am proud to represent these hard-working men, women and families, especially in my constituency.
Under the last Government, the £2.4 billion farming budget was maintained annually. Any underspend was rolled forward, and the average value of farming payment schemes was increased by 10 per cent. The previous Government also launched a grants package worth £427 million which included funding for the Improving Farming Productivity scheme to invest in things like robotics and barn-top solar; funding for a new round of the Farming Equipment and Technology fund, worth £70 million; and targeted schemes to support farmers in improving the viability of their businesses, delivering environmental outcomes and supporting sustainable food production.
The Autumn Budget was an opportunity for the new Government to show that Ministers share the ambition and commitment of the last Government. While it was welcome to see the £2.4 billion farming budget continued, the decision to introduce the family farm tax is most concerning.
Farming organisations including the National Farmers Union, Countryside Alliance, Tenant Farmers Association and The Country Land and Business Association have all raised serious concerns about the harm this will cause to family farms and tenant farmers. The Central Association of Agricultural Valuers has also recently reported that up to 75,000 individual owners of farming businesses could expect to be affected over the coming generation, before considering the effect of inflation due to this change. That is the equivalent of five times the Government’s figure of 500 affected for the single year of 2026/27. They go on to say that “even allowing for almost any plausible margin of error, it is reasonable for large numbers of farmers to expect to be adversely affected.”
We should, therefore, be under no illusion these changes will see family farms split up and sold off. Families will lose their livelihoods and homes and there is no guarantee land sold will be used to grow food risking food prices increases, more food being imported, and the countryside being concreted over.
I have heard from many local farmers on the personal toll this is taking on their family which is why I joined with them in solidarity on Tuesday 19 November for the Farmers Rally in Westminster to ask the Government to listen and again, in February 2025.
Mims Davies MP joins Farmers at Parliament Square | Mims Davies
Unfortunately, the Government is yet to listen to the rural community and change course. It was extremely disappointing that, when the Opposition forced a vote on the Family Farm Tax, not a single Labour Member of Parliament voted to support farmers or rural communities. Instead, they chose party politics and showed that they do not understand British farming or the countryside. I do not envy them having to go back to their constituents to explain their misjudgement.
Famil
