Somerset's Conservative Councillors are sending a clear message of their support for our family farms and rural communities at the full council meeting in Bridgwater on 18th December.
The Family Farm Tax is wrong, ill-thought out, will threaten family farms, risk food security and damage our rural communities.
The motions also send a clear message of support to our farmers and their produce, whether meat and dairy or vegetables and grain.
Councillor's Faye Purbrick and Lucy Trimnell have proposed and seconded these motions following numerous conversations with local farmers and those they met attending the farming protest in Whitehall last month.
Councillor Trimnell said: "We have been talking for months about public support for our meat, dairy, grain and vegetable farmers. If it hadn't been for the pressing need to show our concerns about the cruel removal of winter fuel allowance, we'd have brought this motion in September. Little did we know the next attack that the Labour government were saving up for our rural communities. Farming is such a huge part of life in rural Somerset and meat and dairy farms make up the lions share of local produce - as a council we just have to back our farmers and promote and partake in Somerset's amazing quality and variety of local produce."
Councillor Purbrick continued: "We always suspected that Labour hadn't be open with the country about their plans for our rural communities and this ill-thought out family farm tax just goes to show how little they understand. I've spoken to many farmers who are really concerned about what this will mean to them and their families. With food security and food quality at the top of the agenda in this uncertain world, the threat this tax brings will affect us all. Hard working farmers will need to sell off land to meet inheritance tax bills, some will sell up entirely as their business model just won't work anymore. This will threaten the local landscapes that our farmers are the stewards of. It will threaten high quality local food supplies and the country's ability to feed itself. It will threaten our rural communities and all the workers and businesses that rely on farming, the services and jobs that make up our rural economy and way of life."
Mandy Chilcott, leader of the Conservative group on Somerset Council added: "These motions are essential and send a message to clearly demonstrate to government the impacts that they are having on our farming communities. We hope that all Somerset Councillors will overwhelmingly back these motions as farmers and their families play an essential role in both our local economy and rural way of life. It is essential that that we all stand with our local farmers and work together to convince our urban focussed government to stop the threats to our family farms and to urgently think again before implementing any ‘family farm tax’."
Full details of both motions can be found below. Show your support by signing the Stop the Family Farm Tax petition.
Full Council Motions - 18th December 2024
1. Protecting British Family Farms and Preserving Rural Communities
Proposer Cllr Faye Purbrick | Seconder Cllr Lucy Trimnell
Somerset Council notes with concern the proposed changes to inheritance tax announced by the Labour Government in the recent Autumn budget, which would scrap Agricultural Property Relief (APR). APR has been instrumental in allowing British family farms to remain intact across generations, supporting food security, sustaining rural communities, and aiding environmental stewardship.
This tax is estimated to impact over 70,000(1) family farms, leaving the average farming family with a tax bill of at least £240,000(2), which will force many to sell portions of their land or close entirely, paving the way for corporate ownership over family ownership.
Somerset Council believes that this tax will have severe impacts on:
1. Food Security: Selling off land or closing farms will put our national food independence at risk, at a time when global stability is already fragile. British family farms are critical to ensuring a steady supply of homegrown food.
2. Rural Community Stability: Family farms are the foundation of rural Britain and Somerset, contributing to local jobs, schools, and essential services. Labour’s proposed tax risks destabilising communities, eroding the rural way of life, and causing a negative ripple effect across the countryside and our communities.
3. Environmental Stewardship: Farms cover 70% of the UK’s land (over 420,000 hectares in Somerset alone), with family farms playing a leading role in nature recovery, biodiversity, and sustainable land management. The sale and fragmentation of these lands would hinder conservation efforts and undermine environmental initiatives that his council has pledge to support.
Somerset Council resolves to:
- Declare opposition to the Labour Government’s changes to inheritance tax affecting family farms.
- Write to the Prime Minister, Chancellor and the DEFRA Secretary, along with all Somerset MPs, outlining our opposition to this tax change and the scale of the impact to Somerset and our rural economy.
- Advocate through all available means for the continued APR exemption of family farms to preserve the UK's food security, our rural communities, and environmental initiatives.
Somerset Council urges all Councillors to stand with Britain’s family farms, to support our rural communities, enhance local food security, and to protect our environment by formally rejecting and calling for the reversal of the proposed “family farm tax.”
References
1. CLA 2024 October https://www.cla.org.uk/news/help-the-cla-save-your-family-business/
2. AHDB 2024 October https://ahdb.org.uk/news/ahdb-response-to-budget-2024
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Food and Farming
The following motion will be proposed by Councillor Lucy Trimnell and seconded by Councillor Faye Purbrick:
This council believes that Somerset’s farmers are essential to our local economy, food security and our environment as well as maintaining our much loved rural landscapes. To that end, this council agrees to:
1) Recognise and note the significant contribution made to our local economy and food supplies by our hard-working farmers, particularly our meat and dairy producers who account for the majority of Somerset farming produce.
2) Strengthen our partnerships with arable, livestock, and dairy farmers to support and enhance Somerset’s iconic countryside and will seek to oppose unnecessary additional pressures such as the hike in employers National Insurance contributions and Inheritance Tax on farmers.
3) Make a commitment to support local farmers, growers, and the food and drink sector by ensuring, where possible, that food and beverages served at council-organised events are sourced from local suppliers. This will include meat and dairy, alongside fruit, vegetable and cereal products, reflecting the full diversity of Somerset's agricultural output.
4) As part of Somerset Council’s efforts to address environmental priorities, the Council will explore ways to encourage residents to shop locally whenever possible. This will include promoting home-grown, affordable, and nutritious produce to reduce food miles, boost the local economy, and support our farming community.
