Cornwall farmer says Inheritance Tax changes are 'kick in the teeth' at London protest

A farmer from Cornwall has said the Government's new agricultural Inheritance Tax rules announced in last month's budget are a "kick in the teeth". Matthew Delbridge, of Bodway Farm in Liskeard, joined thousands of other angry farmers in London, protesting changes which will limit current Inheritance Tax relief for farms to only the first £1 million of combined agricultural and business property.

Matthew said this change could see his family farm facing a bill of around £1 million when the current farm owners - his 93-year-old grandad and 91-year-old grandma - pass away. "If my grandparents die before April 2026, we pay nothing. If they die after April 2026, we have a liability of £700-£1m. And last year our farm made a post tax profit of £3,000," he said.

The farm, near Adrenaline Quarry, is a mixture of livestock and arable farming, with 260 acres and four houses owned by Matthew's elderly grandparents.

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"How the heck does Rachel Reeves think we are going to be able to afford this tax," he asked, surrounded by farmers asking similar questions at the London demonstration today. "We will have to sell - there's five generations farming that soil - that's lost.

"I support the community. My mum worked in the NHS, she paid her way. I hear that Rachel Reeves now says that farmers should have to pay for the NHS. Well, the amount of local nurses in our hospitals that are farmers wives or husbands that work. We are supporting the NHS, we pay our taxes, we pay our National Insurance, and it's just a kick in the teeth every single time to us farmers. This tax is just too much.

"We would have to sell, there's no way we can justify paying that inheritance tax bill. My parents will be homeless at the age of 67, they should be retiring but this tax means that dad will have to pay," he said. Matthew added: "It's a push too far."

The farmer said he hoped politicians would listen to the thousands of voices calling for change today but added he is "doubtful".

"I think they're stuck to this policy but we've just got to fight. Because I stand to lose everything so I will fight until I've lost everything and I think that's the will of most of the farmers here today."

Matthew continued: "We are the South West we are a countryside county, we rely on the rural sector and it's just a kick in the teeth for everyone. Cause it's a knock on effect for local shops for businesses that farmers buy from - but we won't be there to buy food from."