The Countryside Alliance has written to Prime Minister Andy Burnham urging him to reset Labour's relationship with the countryside, with the reversal of the farm inheritance tax reforms at the top of its list, The Scottish Farmer reported.

The reforms to Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) came into force on 6 April 2026. Full inheritance tax relief now applies to the first £2.5 million of qualifying agricultural and business assets, falling to 50% above that threshold, and unused allowances can pass between spouses and civil partners. The government says the changes balance revenue with support for businesses; farming organisations remain worried about their effect on family farms and succession, and the alliance calls them the "family farm tax".

"Over the past two years an unprecedented range of government policies have hit the countryside hard and alienated rural communities," wrote the alliance's chairman, Lord Herbert, arguing that the new government is a chance to "leave behind unnecessary and divisive politics, and rebuild trust with the countryside".

The letter follows a Westminster event on 14 September attended by farming and rural representatives with former Prime Minister Lord Cameron and former Labour Home Secretary Lord Blunkett. The alliance cites ORB polling in which only 15% of rural respondents believed Labour cared about people who live and work in the countryside, while 28% said they would be more likely to vote Labour if it improved its relationship with rural communities.

Former farming minister Daniel Zeichner has also warned his party to be "careful about picking fights with the countryside". Mo Metcalf-Fisher, the alliance's director of external affairs, said scrapping the changes would be the clearest sign the government was listening. The report was written by Kelly Henaughen.

Photo: Bernard Sharp / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Source: The Scottish Farmer