A Berkshire farmer has claimed changes to inheritance tax rules announced in October’s budget amounts to ‘stripping rural Britain of its lifeblood’.

Thousands of farmers took to the streets in London yesterday (November 19) to protest the Government’s changes to inheritance tax rules.

From April 2026, inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1 million will be taxed at 20 per cent when they are passed on to the next generation.

Farmers had been exempted from paying inheritance tax since 1984.

Many farmers have argued the tax is unfair as while they are ‘asset rich’, they are ‘cash poor’, and changes would mean they would have to sell up to be able to pay the tax.

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Colin Rayner, a farmer in Colnbrook, who attended the protest, said the decision ‘wouldn’t be enough to paper over the NHS’s waste and mismanagement’, and would be ‘stripping rural Britain of its lifeblood’.

Showing support for farmers were Conservative MP for Windsor Jack Rankin and Liberal Democrat MP for Wokingham Clive Jones.

Mr Rankin called farmers across the UK the ‘custodians of our countryside’ who ‘feed families across Britain’.

Clive Jones, MP for Wokingham, has warned that the new tax could drive up food prices.

MP for Wokingham Clive Jones (right) with Nick, farmer from Wokingham MP for Wokingham Clive Jones (right) with Nick, farmer from Wokingham (Image: Clive Jones)He said: “This policy from the new Labour government is really bad for the country and puts at risk our food security and ability to feed ourselves with good, home-produced food from our UK farms.”

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The number of the total 210,000 farms across the UK which could be affected by the rule change is disputed.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has insisted that the ‘vast majority’ of farms would be ‘unaffected’ by the Budget changes.

The Government has said it ‘recognises the strength of feeling expressed’ by farming communities, but that ‘difficult decisions’ had to be made.

A joint statement from Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Steve Reed said: "We are steadfast in our commitment to Britain’s farming industry because food security is national security.

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“It's why we are investing £5bn into farming over the next two years – the largest amount ever directed towards sustainable food production, rural economic growth and nature’s recovery in our country’s history.

“But with public services crumbling and a £22bn fiscal hole that this Government inherited, we have taken difficult decisions.

“The reforms to Agricultural Property Relief ensure that wealthier estates and the most valuable farms pay their fair share to invest in our schools and health services that farmers and families in rural communities rely on."