Campaign group hails 'town hall rebellion' as another council votes to overthrow family farm tax

Councillors in North Northamptonshire have become the latest to back local farmers after voting overwhelmingly against the Government's new family farm tax.

North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) in the East Midlands now joins Cornwall, Buckinghamshire and Staffordshire Moorlands in publicly opposing Chancellor Rachel Reeves' changes to inheritance tax rules for farms announced in the Autumn Budget in what in what campaign group Countryside Alliance is hailing as a growing ‘town hall rebellion'.

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A motion submitted by Conservative councillor Alex Evelyn was debated at a meeting of the full council last on December 5, asking council officers to scrutinise the Government's plans, saying the decision was ‘ideologically driven' and a direct threat to the rural communities of North Northamptonshire.

The authority was called upon to consider what support it could offer farmers affected by the new tax rates and investigate the wider impact it could have on food security, local businesses and employment.

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Cllr Evelyn told the chamber: "As I represent a semi-rural division which is home to a number of farms I do feel quite compelled to actually speak on this motion and talk about our farming communities. It's another day and another attack on the British people. This is a ticking time bomb that will impact family farms over the next five to 10 years. Let u all come together three weeks before Christmas and say we back British farms, back British meat and back British farmers."

Rachel Reeves

Following the heated discussion, 38 members voted to support the motion, while seven were against and three abstained.

Mo Metcalf-Fisher, director of external affairs for the Countryside Alliance said: "We would like to thank the overwhelming number of councillors that backed this important motion. North Northamptonshire now adds its heavy weight to the growing list of councils opposing the family farm tax. The family farm remains the backbone of rural communities and they are also central to the public vision of the British countryside. Rachel Reeves should listen to the experts and reverse this policy before it's too late".

Upcoming votes are set to take place at other councils over the coming days.