Tensions are simmering within Labour as rural MPs rally against Rachel Reeves, fearing a controversial tax could jeopardize their future at the polls.
Farmers have increased pressure on their Labour MPs over hated inheritance tax changes (Image: Getty)
Labour is facing a fresh internal uprising as rural MPs begin quietly organising to remove Rachel Reeves, claiming the family farm tax could spell defeat for them at the next election .
Dozens chose to abstain in Tuesday night’s crucial Budget vote on the levy, openly defying a three-line whip. Penrith and Solway MP Markus Campbell-Savours went further, voting against the measure and later being suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party . He warned the policy would “devastate” family farms.
A Labour insider told the Daily Mail that 48 MPs have joined a WhatsApp group focused on the row, with discussions reportedly turning to whether they could “get Reeves out before Christmas”.
The source said: “There is real anger that she has refused to listen on this. It’s an issue that is causing genuine problems in people’s constituencies and she just doesn’t want to hear it. People are appalled by her arrogance.”
Chancellor under renewed pressure after Budget fallout
The renewed mutiny comes as the Chancellor continues to face calls to quit over the fallout from last week’s Budget. Exchanges in the Commons were heated on Wednesday, with Kemi Badenoch accusing Ms Reeves of misleading the public about the state of the finances before the Budget.
Her attack came after Richard Hughes, chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility, resigned days after revealing that the Chancellor already knew she would meet her fiscal rules when she held an emergency press briefing warning the nation about the public purse.
The Tory leader alleged Mr Hughes had been “forced out for telling the truth: that the Chancellor did not need to raise taxes on working people.”
She continued: “We also know that the Chancellor was briefing the media and twisting the facts – all so she could break her promises and raise taxes. If she were a CEO, she would have been fired, and she might even have been prosecuted for market abuse.”
The Prime Minister tried to defend the Budget, insisting he was “proud” of it and claiming Mrs Badenoch was “completely losing the plot.”
Badenoch ramps up attack on Reeves
Mrs Badenoch intensified her criticism, saying: “No one believes a word that the Prime Minister says. We now know the black hole was fake, her book was fake, her CV was fake, even her chess claims are made up.
“She doesn’t belong in the Treasury. She belongs in La La Land. They raise taxes on working people, that £16billion was to increase benefits to protect them from their backbenchers.”
Amid the political storm, Ms Reeves has ordered a leak inquiry following warnings from economists and the OBR that Treasury briefings before the Budget had unsettled markets.
Treasury chief secretary James Murray confirmed to MPs: “A leak inquiry is now underway, with the full support of the Chancellor and the whole Treasury team.”
Farm tax sparks uproar among countryside MPs
The family farm tax, introduced in last year’s Budget, has become a growing headache for Labour MPs representing rural seats. Despite a small concession included in this year’s Budget, many MPs warned it fell far short of what was needed. Around 30 abstained on Tuesday night’s vote.
Mr Campbell-Savours said he could not defend a measure Labour had previously promised not to introduce in opposition.
He said: “They are changes that leave many, not least elderly farmers, yet to make arrangements to transfer assets, devastated at the impact on their family farms.”
South Derbyshire MP Samantha Niblett said: “Most farmers are not wealthy land barons; they live hand to mouth on tiny and sometimes non-existent profit margins. Many were explicitly advised not to hand over their farms to their children, and they now face enormous and unexpected tax bills.”
Ms Niblett described the strain on older farmers as “a level of distress and strain that cannot be overstated”, adding: “We must acknowledge a difficult truth: we have lost the trust of our farmers and they deserve, now more than ever, our utmost respect, our honesty and our unwavering support.”
South West Norfolk MP Terry Jermy argued many family farms “return very little profit”, despite the substantial value of their land, leaving them unable to absorb the new tax burden.
He said: “While I accept the economic situation and the appalling legacy of the last Conservative Government, the future of farming in this country depends on this Government’s policy being right.”
Conservatives accuse Labour of targeting farmers
Shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins condemned Labour’s handling of the issue, saying: “Labour has continued their assault on farmers and family businesses by suspending their only MP who dared to vote against their vindictive Family Farm and Business Taxes.
“After their Budget for Benefits Street and cementing their death tax, this Government has promised higher taxes, higher unemployment and depleting food security.
“Only the Conservatives will stand up for our rural and agricultural communities and axe the Family Farm and Business Taxes.”
