Inheritance tax update as Labour responds to 130,000-strong petition

A petition on the Parliament website called for this decision to be reversed for working farms, warning that "changes to inheritance tax will harm UK farming deeply, with some farmers predicting their families will be forced out within two generations".

The petition has been signed by over 135,000 people at the time of writing. In its response, the Government said: "It is not fair to maintain such a significant relief for a very small number of claimants, when this money could better be used to fund our public services."

The response pointed out that over the past four years, 47 percent of the relief on agricultural relief claims when to the top seven percent of claims.

Ministers said the changes to the tax will result in up to 520 estates paying more in 2026 to 2027, with the changes to come in from April 2026.

The response also pointed to the current IHT tax breaks that will still apply for farmers: "Full exemptions for transfers between spouses and civil partners continue to apply.