I welcome today’s announcement by the government to raise the threshold for Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief. It is another Labour U-turn, and one that should not have taken this long to reach. Raising the threshold from £1m to £2.5 million is a step in the right direction, but it should never have required this level of distress to get here.
From the outset, Conservatives warned that this tax risked doing real damage to family farms, not just financially, but personally. Farmers, growers, and their families have lived for months under great uncertainty, and for some the pressure has been unbearable. Labour cannot ignore the fact that this policy has had severe human consequences, and caused immense distress to many people.
This change is the result of sustained campaigning by Conservatives, farmers, the NFU, and voices from across Parliament who refused to stay silent. I pay tribute to the farmers who spoke out and to those who backed them.
