Stuart Anderson MP has thrown his support behind Farming Action Day, which is being organised by the Conservative Party on Saturday 22nd November 2025.
A Food and Farming Emergency was declared at the Conservative Party in October 2025, after government figures revealed that more than 6,000 farms have closed under Labour's watch.
As part of the national day of action, Stuart has renewed his long-standing opposition to upcoming hikes in inheritance tax on local farmers and family businesses.
Last year's Autumn Budget announced that Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) would both be halved from April 2026.
It means that farmers will face a 20% inheritance tax bill on estates with business and agricultural assets worth more than £1 million.
Having warned against the change in September 2024, Stuart became one of the first parliamentarians to call out the decision after it was announced the following month - calling it a "brutal act of rural vandalism."
Stuart has said that the reduction in support risks national food security by driving up food prices ahead of Christmas, with food and drink inflation due to hit 5.7% by December 2025.
Stuart has also said that the changes would impact farmers' ability to pass their farms onto future generations, with the National Farmers' Union finding that the change would affect over one in four farms.
A poll conducted by the Country Land Business Association (CLA) has also found that eight in ten farmers are worried that their business would not survive the next decade if the hikes are not scrapped.
Additionally, one in six farmers have considered selling their farm and leaving the industry altogether. According to the Government's own statistics, only one in three farmers feel positive about their future.
With Shropshire being home to more than three thousand farms, Stuart has consistently opposed the hikes. He has also slammed the government's decision to cut £100 million from farming and countryside programmes.
The Conservatives have pledged to repeal the legislation if returned to government after the next General Election.
Stuart Anderson MP said:
"Shropshire is proudly home to more than three thousand farms. However, Labour’s Family Farm and Business Taxes could affect thousands of family farms, including those right here in South Shropshire, - making it harder for the next generation to take over and keep our countryside thriving. On Farming Day Action, I am proud to renew my support for local farmers and my opposition to these cruel tax hikes. With food prices rising, farms closing, and confidence at rock-bottom, the last thing our rural communities need is another hit to the pocket. The Chancellor must do the right thing and axe the tax."
Shadow Farming Victoria Atkins said:
“The Family Farm and Business Tax has been imposed by a Labour Government that has no understanding of rural life or the importance of family farms. Now Labour have a chance to accept that they have pushed British Farming into a food and farming emergency with their Family Farm and Business Tax and their other farming failures. Conservatives are on the side of rural communities and will axe Labour's Family Farm and Business Tax at the first opportunity. The farmers who work long hours to serve us food every day deserve better. Labour should u-turn and axe their Family Farm and Business Tax at the budget."
