Hitchin MP welcomes securing Government move to protect family farms from inheritance tax burden

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP

TUESDAY 23^rd DECEMBER 2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Alistair Strathern, MP for Hitchin, has celebrated the Government’s decision to raise the inheritance tax threshold for agricultural estates from £1 million to £2.5 million - a move that will protect family farms while ensuring the largest estates become liable for inheritance tax.

The change follows months of campaigning by Strathern and other rural Labour MPs, who argued that the original £1 million threshold risked penalising genuine family farmers as well as large corporate landowners.

Since the original proposals were first announced, he's been meeting regularly with local farms, the NFU and their Herts and Beds branches to understand the impact on local farms and make the case for change to Farming and Treasury Ministers in Westminster.

The new threshold means any individual can pass on agricultural estate worth up to £2.5 million tax-free, while estates above that amount will only pay tax on the value above £2.5 million. As with other inheritance tax allowances, this will enable spouses to pool their allowance taking estates of up to £5m out of the tax altogether. 

Under the previous £1 million limit, around 75% of farms were unaffected. With the new threshold, that figure will be significantly higher - providing reassurance to farming families across Bedfordshire and beyond.

Alistair Strathern MP said:

"Throughout the last year I’ve been out visiting farms across our constituency to hear directly from those affected.

"As a supporter of our farming community, with many friends working in the sector, I've always been clear the threshold was too low.

"Over the last year I've been privately making the case for change, sharing local farmers stories to highlight the urgency of action.

“Raising the threshold to £2.5 million strikes the right balance. It protects genuine family farms while cracking down on avoidance by larger landowners.

"Thank you to everyone who wrote to me and shared their farming stories. This is a win for the agricultural sector and for the families who keep our countryside thriving."

Notes to Editors

• The inheritance tax threshold for agricultural estates has increased from £1 million to £2.5 million.

• Pictures attached highlight one of Mr Strathern's recent meetings with the Farming Minister, as well as some of his engagements with farmers locally.