Starmer aware of farmers 'considering suicide' over inheritance tax rises

The Prime Minister was accused of "disrespecting the countryside" over the changes and was told that many were considering suicide so their farms do not become liable for inheritance tax for the first time.

The new hikes mean that farm estates worth more than £1 million will be taxed at a rate of 20 per cent and will come into affect in April after previously been exempt.

The Prime Minister suggested to MPs on Monday that he had already spoken to farmers who told him that some were contemplating suicide.

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But speaking at the Commons liaison committee, he insisted that the changes, announced in Rachel Reeve's Budget last month, would go ahead.

Labour MP Cat Smith said farmers "put their trust" in the party, only to feel "misled" by the changes which prompted hundreds of tractors to protest in Westminster on Budget day.

She said: "Elderly farmers, or farmers with a terminal diagnosis, are in a position whereby if they die before April, their farm will pass to the next generation with no tax implications."

She added that some farmers with a terminal illness were "actively planning to expedite their own deaths" before the inheritance tax break is removed.

Ms Smith also asked Sir Keir: "Can you see how farmers can feel that this Government hasn't necessarily treated them the way that they expect to be treated as working people?"

The Prime Minister responded: "I do understand the concern, and I met with the president of the NFU (National Farmers’ Union) just last week, as I’ve met with him before, to run through the particular concerns they have.

"II do think on agricultural property relief, there had to be sensible reform. And I think this is sensible reform."

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee chairman Alistair Carmichael said: "Nobody should be left feeling – as Cat Smith has just described – that they would be better off dying between now and next April."

Mr Carmichael, a Liberal Democrat, also asked Sir Keir why he was not willing to ditch the policy in the face of criticism, including from Labour-dominated parliamentary committees.

He said: "You don’t have to listen to me. You don’t even have to listen to the farmers out there. You don’t have to listen to the president of the NFU.

"But why do you not listen to your own party colleagues?"

Sir Keir told him: "I do listen to party colleagues all the time."