Lord Blunkett Criticizes Labour's Family Farm Tax as a Mistake

Labour veteran Lord Blunkett has stated that his party's family farm tax was a 'mistake'. Speaking at a Countryside Alliance event, the former home secretary supported calls for Andy Burnham to lead a 'rural reset' to address issues stemming from the party's first two years in power. Farmers expressed dissatisfaction following then-chancellor Rachel Reeves' announcement of a 20 percent inheritance charge on assets exceeding £1 million, which ended a waiver that had been in place since the 1980s. In response to protests from rural communities, the government increased the threshold to £2.5 million, meaning most farms would not be affected. However, campaigners argue that the tax will still impact ordinary working family farms. Lord Blunkett attributed the unpopular policy to 'Treasury economic orthodoxy'. He remarked, 'I think the family tax, the family farm imposition, was a mistake – a mistake made in the Treasury represented by my own party,' noting that it had 'touched a nerve'. He emphasized the importance of rural voices, stating, 'If you're an urban dweller all your life and you've got Treasury economic orthodoxy in your soul, you won't understand that family farms are only family because they are passed down from one generation to another.' Lord Blunkett also supported calls for Prime Minister Andy Burnham to oversee a 'rural reset' and advocated for the removal of the ban on trail hunting proposed in the 2024 manifesto. He spoke alongside former Prime Minister David Cameron, who criticized Labour's stance on shooting, stating, 'It's not just the shoots that suffer if they get attacked. It's the pubs, it's the restaurants, it's the places where people stay, it's the people that work in the shoots.' Minette Batters, the former president of the National Farmers' Union, echoed the need for a 'rural reset'. Tim Bonner, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, listed 27 government policies opposed by his organization, including the extension of inheritance tax to farms, plans to ban trail hunting, changes in betting rules, and tighter shooting regulations. The Prime Minister's spokesman indicated that Mr. Burnham aims to 'rebuild trust' with farmers and rural communities.