EFRA Chair Sounds Alarm Over Inheritance Tax Changes and Food Security

Orkney and Shetland MP, Alistair Carmichael, calls for urgent review of the UK’s food and environment strategy.

Inheritance Tax Threat to Farming Families

The Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee, The Rt Hon Alistair Carmichael MP, has issued a stark warning that upcoming changes to inheritance tax regulations could force families to “break up or sell their farms”. Carmichael emphasizes the need for a transparent and clear strategy on food security, land management, and environmental protection from the Government.

A Call for Strategic Vision

Addressing attendees at an event organized by Whitehouse Communications at the National Liberal Club, Carmichael highlighted his background in farming and the challenges faced by his rural constituency. He criticized the government’s current approach, describing it as a “tax-first, purpose-later” methodology, which fails to comprehend the full implications of inheritance tax on the resilience of family farms. “If your inheritance tax bill is going to break up the farm, then something has gone very wrong,” he remarked, advocating for policies grounded in “honest discussion – not administrative guesswork.”

Food Security Under Threat

During his speech, Carmichael pointed out that the lack of a unified food security strategy is leaving farmers vulnerable to various global and domestic pressures. He referenced the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and statements from U.S. President Donald Trump regarding tariff barriers as compounding issues. He warned that without meaningful government intervention, UK food production could decline by as much as 32% by 2050, echoing concerns raised by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Science and Technology in Agriculture.

“Food security is national security,” Carmichael emphasized, cautioning that a decrease in output, coupled with indecisive governmental priorities and delays in essential programs like the Sustainable Farming Incentive, has left farmers in a state of uncertainty, “waiting, again, for clarity that never arrives.” He asserted that there is a “fundamental lack of strategic vision” within DEFRA, with critical decisions often made without adequate consideration of their long-term effects on domestic food production.

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