Labour First Minister Risks Angering Farmers Further

Responding to the news that the Labour First Minister has called for farmers to “calm down a bit” over changes to inheritance tax, Andrew RT Davies MS, Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, said:

“These comments show how little this Labour Welsh Government understands the rural community. This new death tax might well spell the end for family farms, and already we’ve seen one farmer take their own life for fear of its consequences. This decision has to be reversed, because no farmers means no food.”

Wales’ First Minister has called for calm over changes to inheritance tax for agriculture. Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ budget proved controversial in the sector after she announced an end to exemptions for some farms in the Budget.

Marking her 100 days in the job in a BBC Radio 5 Live phone-in, First Minister Eluned Morgan said initial calculations showed a “tiny proportion” of farms were involved but said that the number was still being figured out. I just think we should just all calm down a bit until we are clear about how many farms will be affected,” she said. Opposition parties said her government was out of touch with rural communities.

From April 2026, farms worth more than £1m will face an effective inheritance tax rate of 20% – half the usual rate of 40%.

The National Farmers Union has called it “disastrous” for family farms, saying it would see farmers forced to sell land to pay the tax. Speaking to Nicky Campbell on BBC Radio 5 Live, Morgan said it was a UK government responsibility.

“We know the first million is 100% relief. If you have a partner, that’s another million, another 100% relief on the second million. So we’re getting up to quite big numbers. The initial calculations that we’ve made is that there will be a tiny proportion of farmers in Wales affected by this. So I just think we should just all calm down a bit until we are all clear about how many farms will be affected, and we are crunching the numbers on that as we speak.”

The Welsh Conservative leader in the Senedd, Andrew RT Davies, said the First Minister’s comments:

“Show how little this Labour Welsh government understands the rural community”. Warning “this new death tax might well spell the end for family farms”, he added: “This decision has to be reversed, because no farmers means no food.”

Plaid’s Cefin Campbell said farmers were “rightfully worried about the impact Labour’s Budget will have on them. Telling them to calm down – really?” he said. “How much more out of touch can you get?”

Morgan should “demand the UK Labour government scrap the changes to inheritance tax and ensure fair funding for agriculture”, he said.

Calm down, is easy to say for our First Minister, but I think that comment was not only rude, but very arrogant and ignorant. As a struggling family farmer in Wales, they must be feeling that everyone, including both the UK and Welsh Labour Governments are happy to work against you and your family. I think that from both those governments, you’d expect the Welsh government at least recognises how important farming is to the Welsh community and the Welsh economy. Sadly our First Minister is so out of touch with our farmers, she continues to back the UK Labour government who have presented yet another ill-thought through policy. Labour back Labour, you don’t have to be too clever to work that one out, but with her first 100 days in office our First Minister has proved us right.

I have never farmed so obviously I am not a farmer, but my neighbours are farmers and I do think I have the common sense to work out that without our farmers, we will have no food. Apart from of course the millions of tons of food that is flown into us. Well that it is not helping our climate, but it is perfectly obvious that this is what both Labour governments fail to understand. Perhaps the NFU can invite both Starmer and Morgan to a meeting to discuss this problem……….Just a thought that both of them would be ‘too busy to attend’.

However I hope that our farmers take action to protect not only our food sources and our planet but our Welsh countryside too.