Labour’s inheritance tax raid on farmers and other family businesses risk hundreds of thousands of jobs and a £15 billion hit to the economy, new research warns. Family Business UK said the controversial changes announced at the autumn budget will hit every sector of the economy and every region of the UK.
Its analysis found that the overhaul could lead to 208,500 job losses by the end of this Parliament, as well as £14.86 billion less economic activity Tory shadow chancellor Mel Stride said the research should be a “wake-up call” to Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
He added: “Labour’s raid on family businesses risks hollowing out the backbone of our economy.
“From farms in Yorkshire to factories in the Midlands, family businesses face punishing uncertainty. The Chancellor must urgently rethink these plans and work with industry to protect jobs, investment, and the future of British enterprise.
“You can’t tax your way to growth. As an entrepreneur, who has built businesses from scratch, I know it’s business that creates prosperity. Labour’s front bench doesn’t get it because they lack any real-world business experience. We can’t afford Labour.”
The Government has faced an ongoing backlash for limiting the 100% Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) to a combined £1 million.
The move has sparked outrage from farmers and other family businesses who fear they will no longer be able to pass on their lifetime’s work.
Neil Davy, CEO of Family Business UK, said: “This latest research shows just how far-reaching, and immediate, the impact of these policy changes is. No industry, sector, region or parliamentary constituency will be immune.
“In construction, services, manufacturing, tourism, transport, agriculture and horticulture, family business owners are responding to the changes to BPR and APR by tearing up long-term plans to invest in their businesses, their employees and the communities in which they are based.
“While parts of government are looking at how to boost regional growth and create opportunities in every sector of the economy, this research shows how changes to BPR and APR will achieve the exact opposite.
“Within our diverse and rapidly changing economy, family business owners have been building Britain for generations. If they are to continue to do so, with confidence in the future, the Government must urgently reconsider these policy changes.”
The research, conducted by CBI Economics, involved almost 4,200 family businesses.
It comes as the Daily Express has been campaigning for a U-turn with our Save Britain’s Family Farm crusade.
A Treasury spokesperson said: “Our reforms to Agricultural and Business Property Reliefs will mean three quarters of estates will continue to pay no inheritance tax at all, while the remaining quarter will pay half the inheritance tax that most estates pay, and payments can be spread over 10 years, interest-free. This is a fair and balanced approach which helps fix the public services we all rely on.
“Capping the rate of corporation tax, reforming planning, establishing a National Wealth Fund and creating pension megafunds is part of our Plan for Change to get Britain building, unlock investment and support business so we can raise living standards and make all parts of the country better off.”
Keir Starmer should hang his head in shame – no wonder Reform are ahead
Cost of living crisis – does anyone remember those words? Because it sure as hell hasn’t gone away. It’s a crisis named so because of the millions affected and the vulnerable people forced to choose between eating and heating. I bet there’s hardly anyone who hasn’t changed their shopping habits to cover the cost of soaring bills. Council tax bills are the latest to rise, with some local authorities increasing rates by 10%. This impacts the economy and jobs market even further as businesses struggle to pay salaries and deal with the fallout.
It may not have created the crisis, but this Labour government has certainly fuelled the problem by punishing the most needy. Keir Starmer and his ministers embarrassed themselves by deliberately picking on pensioners when removing the winter fuel allowance. They only back-pedalled on the decision when Nigel Farage and Reform vowed to reverse the cut.
Now, it’s been revealed the Civil Service has spent more than £27million on staffing and projects promoting equality, diversity and inclusion. The figures, from the first internal review by the Cabinet Office into ‘Whitehill wokery’ reveal that hundreds of staff earned average salaries of £53,000. Some of the money went on their spending on away days and paying for memberships of equalities organisations.
The report also revealed Whitehall spent £534,000 in 2022/23 on 570 diversity networks with 2,965 committee members. That’s taxpayers money, yours and mind. Name me one of these “diversity networks” that is more important than a person choosing to shiver in the cold or skip dinner to save a few pounds. There isn’t one.
It makes my blood boil when I think of how many pensioners sat at home in the freezing cold over the last few months because the money that could have kept them warm was being spent on how to make people feel better. Well some clever clog has done the maths, and it’s 135,000 pensioners to be precise. This is outrageous. No wonder Labour voters are flocking to Reform in protest. Sir Starmer should hang his head in shame.
Kylie Minogue’s back and she looks and sounds better than ever. The Aussie pop princess, who’s just turned 57, has sold out every ticket for her UK Tension Tour – beginning with four nights at the 20,000 capacity 02 arena – and celebrated her birthday with pink fizz to mark the fifth anniversary of her wine brand. It seems we Can’t Get You Out of Our Heads, Ms Minogue, and quite right too.
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Dolly Parton has revealed her “loneliness” after the death of her husband Carl Dean in March. The couple were married for nearly 60 years. My heart goes out to Dolly, 79. I know how heartbreaking that pain is having lost my wife Melinda in 2018 to lung cancer.
I’ve been lucky enough to find love again, with my darling Lady W, and even though our relationship is now on limited time because of my cancer, I’m so glad of the time together. Dolly, you will come through the pain. And if you want to find love again in the future, you won’t be short of suitors.
There’s been a surge in the number of motorcyclists dying on our roads, with official figures showing 343 riders lost their lives in crashes in 2024, up from 313 in 2023. Overall, motorcyclists made up 21% of road fatalities last year.
What’s to blame? You’ve guessed it, the rise in food delivery apps, according to Edmund King of the AA. He said: “As more travellers switch to two wheels because of costs and for deliveries, the warning ‘Think Bikes!’ has never been more relevant.”
I couldn’t agree more, Sir. The bikes are a menace on our streets. There are too many of them and they’re not only endangering their own lives each and every day but vulnerable people – including me! – with their reckless speed as they dodge the traffic.
Can I make a suggestion to help reduce their numbers? Stop ordering so many takeaways. Or if you must have one, pop down and pick it up in person. It’s how we used to do it!
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Why is Thames Water being fined £122.7million when the company’s run so appallingly that it will struggle to pay it? Thames Water’s debts now stand at £22.8billion – that’s right, billion. A sum so large it seems to float right on by, just like the sewage Thames Water allows to poison our waterways.
Look, there’s only one way this is going to go and that is higher bills for customers. Which is bloody infuriating. Forcing the public to cover Thames Water’s inadequacies seems completely barking mad. In fact, it’s a fiasco when the management should be locked up for their failings.
The whole thing gives me a sinking feeling. Yes, I said it.
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Durham County Council’s decision to remove a Pride flag at its headquarters has got lots of liberals in a tizzy, including Lib Dem councillor Ellie Hopgood who called the decision a “disrespectful, mean-spirited act”. But it’s a good idea because if you have one flag up promoting one particular lifestyle, then you should have one for all the rest. The only flag that should be flying from any council building is a Union Jack or, maybe, the flag of the party running the local authority.
And I won’t hear the charge that this is a homophobic idea. I’m an old man now so I’ve seen the shift in attitudes towards sexuality over the past few decades. Quite right too. I support anyone wanting to love who they want.
But this is a decision about common sense. The council’s deputy leader, Darren Grimes, said the the flag’s removal wasn’t anti-gay but “anti-tokenism”. It’s for this reason they removed a Ukrainian flag too. He’s got it spot on. One more thing… Cllr Grimes is gay. So maybe Ms Hopgood should wrap her head around that.
