Political opinion: Lib Dem MP, John Milne calls for Family Farm Tax to be reversed after damning cross-party report

The report warns that reforms announced in last year’s Autumn Budget were rushed through without proper consultation or impact assessments. They are creating chaos for farmers, land valuations, and food security across the UK. The committee recommends delaying final decisions until October 2026, allowing for alternative schemes to be explored.

Responding to the report, John Milne said:

“This government needs to seriously rethink their approach to the farming community. As this report outlines, the Family Farm Tax threatens UK farming’s future. I recently surveyed Horsham farmers and many of them are already struggling with increased costs, such as energy bills.

Piling yet more stress onto the industry is the exact opposite of what our government should be doing. How much more do they think the farming community can take?

The Liberal Democrats have opposed this family farm tax from the start. After years of instability caused by the Conservative Party’s botched grant system transition and unfair trade deals, the last thing we need is more chaos. The government should hold up their hands, admit they got this wrong and go back to the drawing board.”