The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) has found that 80% of farmers ‘worry for survival’ as a result of the family farm inheritance tax.
A total 500 farmers and landowners took part in a CLA poll recently with worries building as the introduction of the capping of inheritance tax reliefs is due to be put into affect on April 6, 2026.
The UK government published its draft legislation for the new policy as well as an impact assessment of the changes in July 2025.
The government stated in the assessment that the inheritance tax will not have “any significant macroeconomic impacts”.
The assessment also argued that it “is not expected to have a material impact on food security.”
Impact assessment
However, the CLA strongly criticised this assessment at the time with CLA president Victoria Vyvyan saying: “The ending of vital inheritance tax reliefs will crush farming and family businesses”
Following the assessment, CLA conducted a survey in a bid to highlight the consequences, with Vyvyan stated: “The Treasury remains deaf, blind and indifferent to the damage to the economy.”
Vyvyan added: “This is not an impact assessment; it reads like an amateur note from an arrogant government setting and marking its own homework and simply not understanding businesses and food security,”
“Together the industry has offered a sensible alternative via the ‘clawback’ mechanism.
“The Treasury has given no reason for failing to consider an alternative.”
Poll results
According to the CLA, just under 80% of respondents are worried their business will not survive the next 10 years, with over 60% already considering selling their entire farms.
A further 69% of respondents explained how they will have to sell land or take out loans to keep the business, with nearly half of the respondents predicting they will have to sell at least a quarter of their farm.
The poll also found that 89% of farmers have delayed investment since the budget, with 27% saying they have held back from investing over £150,000.
CLA brought attention to the fact that not a single respondent said they would vote for the Labour party at the next election.
However the poll did show that 36% of respondents would back Reform, while 38% would vote for the Conservatives.
CLA
Vyvyan said: “The Treasury says these reforms will barely touch rural Britain.
“Our polling shows they will force hard choices on farms that have sustained communities for generations, selling their land, laying people off, shelving plans for the future.”
The CLA president said families are in the midst of deciding which parts of their farms they can afford to keep, if any.
Vyvyan added: “Rural Labour MPs can see what’s coming. They know it will drain the life from the countryside and strip away the trust of the people who sent them to Westminster.
“If they support it, their voters won’t forget.”
The CLA highlighted how a separate study by CBI-Economics found that over 200,000 jobs could be lost during this parliament, with the changes alone costing the economy £14.9 billion.
