Stuart Anderson MP has joined with fellow Conservative MPs in voting against new inheritance tax laws, which he has said will "devastate" farming communities like South Shropshire.
The Farm Profitability Review has found that farmers are "bewildered and frightened" by the changes which were announced in the October 2024 Autumn Budget.
Nearly all the responses to the Review, published on 18th December 2025, cited the changes as the "single biggest issue" regarding farming viability that they face.
Having warned against the changes in September 2024, Stuart became one of the first parliamentarians to call out the decision a month later - calling it a "brutal act of rural vandalism."
Since then, Stuart has consistently opposed the changes, which he believes will have devastating consequences for family farmers in South Shropshire and beyond.
The changes will halve support available via Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) after the first £1 million on combined agricultural and business assets from April 2026.
Once implemented, the changes will mean that farmers will face a 20% inheritance tax bill on estates with business and agricultural assets worth more than £1 million.
The measures were included in the Finance Bill, which received its Second Reading in the House of Commons on 16th December 2025.
Stuart supported a 'Reasoned Amendment' to the Bill, which would have declined parliamentary approval due to the changes.'
Supporting the amendment, Stuart said:
"Does my hon. Friend agree that farmers across South Shropshire have been devastated by the family farm tax? It is going to impact them far beyond what the Government are even considering, and it will impact national food security."
Shadow Farming Minister Robbie Moore responded:
"I absolutely agree. This Budget has an impact not only on our farming community, but on the wider agricultural supply chain and the many businesses that support our farming community. Why? Because bringing in a threshold of £1 million will impact nearly every family farming business."
Stuart has said that the changes will impact farmer's ability to pass on their farms onto future generations. This will pose a serious risk to domestic food security and push up food prices in the supermarkets.
Stuart has added that the changes will devastate rural employment opportunities. The latest statistics show that the unemployment rate has already reached 5.1 per cent - a five year high.
Despite enormous and constant opposition, the Chancellor Rachel Reeves has only tweaked the planned changes to allow for a 'spousal transfer.'
On Monday 15th December 2025, the Prime Minister admitted that he is aware that some farmers are contemplating suicide in response to the tax hikes.
At the Liaison Committee, Sir Keir Starmer acknowledged the devastating impact of his tax hike on family farms but refused to reverse the hikes.
The government claims the policy will "target larger estates", but critics argue it will hurt agricultural businesses that are asset-rich but cash-poor, with knock-on effects on business investment and farm viability
The National Farmers' Union has said that 75 per cent of farms will be impacted by the changes, despite Labour's claims that only 27 per cent of farms will be impacted.
According to the Country Land and Business Association, 80 per cent of farmers are concerned for the survival of their businesses and 60 per cent have considered selling their farm.
Only one in three farmers in England feel positive about their own future in agriculture, according to the government's own Farmer Opinion Tracker for England.
Shadow Secretary of State 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. We voted to scrap this tax and will continue to campaign to stop it. Labour have voted to push British Farming into a food and farming emergency with their Family Farm and Business Tax and their other farming failures. They should be ashamed they did not join us to stop vote against the Family Farm and Business Tax. 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. The Conservatives will scrap this cruel tax when we are re-elected to government.”
Stuart Anderson MP added:
"In Parliament, I proudly joined with fellow Conservative MPs in voting against the Family Farm and Business Tax that Labour is imposing on rural communities like South Shropshire. Despite the Prime Minister having acknowledged the devastating impact of these cruel tax hikes, the Chancellor Rachel Reeves has only tweaked the planned changes to allow for a 'spousal transfer.' With rising food prices, record farm closures, and plummeting farmer confidence, now is the time to support British farmers - not punish them with unfair tax hikes. Labour's political decision to target farmers is a cruel blow to a sector that is already struggling under this government. Only the Conservatives have committed to reversing these cruel changes and creating the right conditions for growth and jobs that will get the rural economy moving again."
