Government is turning its back on family farmers, says Chichester MP

Jess Brown-Fuller, the Liberal Democrat MP for Chichester, is calling for the government to rethink its inheritance tax plans, claiming it will be a disaster for farmers around Chichester. 

Jess has been meeting with farmers throughout the constituency since the Budget announcement earlier this month, seeing the work they do and the concerns they have. 

“The land around Chichester is one of the most productive areas in the UK for growing food and our farmers help stock Britain’s supermarket shelves and feed the nation. The last government neglected our farmers shockingly, with botched post-Brexit trade deals and complex and poorly constructed schemes to replace EU subsidies. Now the new government is also turning its back on the families who grow our food, while they talk about growing our economy,” she said.

“I know the government has to plug an enormous financial hole left by the last government and shore up our crippled public services but should the families who have been growing our food for years be the one’s making the sacrifice?” she asked. 

The government claims that 27% of farms will be affected by the Budget proposals that would cut the level of inheritance tax relief for farmers. If that figure is correct, it would hit 48 farms out of a total of 178 farm holdings in the Chichester constituency. The Chichester constituency has more than 18,000 hectares, or nearly 50,000 acres, of land which is farmed. 

The government’s proposals mean that from April 2026 the first £1 million of combined business and agricultural assets will continue to be exempt from inheritance tax but for assets over £1 million only a 50% relief, at an effective rate of 20% will apply. In 2022/23, 49% of all farms had a net worth of at least £1.5 million.

“This budget not only threatens family farms but will also make producing food more expensive. This means more cost for farmers who simply cannot absorb it, and it will have to be borne by someone,” said National Farmers Union President Tom Bradshaw.

Jess joined local farmers and members of the NFU on the Manhood peninsula last week to learn about the food they grow, and the contribution local farmers make to wildlife and the environment. She will also be meeting up with local farmers in Westminster this week as part the farming community’s mass lobbying.