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Labour veteran Lord Blunkett has criticized his party’s plan to impose a 20% inheritance charge on family farms with assets over £1 million, calling it a mistake. Addressing the Countryside Alliance, he urged new Prime Minister Andy Burnham to implement a “rural reset” and address issues such as ending the ban on trail hunting mentioned in Labour's manifesto. Lord Blunkett blamed Treasury economic orthodoxy for the unpopular policy, which has caused significant backlash from rural communities.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-15,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Labour veteran Lord Blunkett has admitted that his party's family farm tax was a mistake, addressing the Countryside Alliance. The original plan proposed by then-Chancellor Rachel Reeves in 2023 included a 20 percent inheritance charge on assets worth more than £1 million, ending an exemption dating back to the 1980s. This move angered farmers who rely on passing down family farms from one generation to another. After protests, ministers raised the threshold to £2.5 million but campaigners argue this still impacts ordinary working family farms. Lord Blunkett attributed the error to "Treasury economic orthodoxy" and stressed that Labour needs to listen more closely to rural voices to prevent such issues in the future.
Written for “Labour Farm Tax Controversy” on 2026-09-17,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.65, but every quote it verified points right, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 10205: score contradicts its own evidence · logged 2026-09-15
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Labour veteran Lord Blunkett has admitted his party's family farm tax was a 'mistake'.
asserted
tax → see → Source
Addressing a Countryside Alliance event, the former home secretary backed calls for Andy Burnham to oversee a 'rural reset' to undo the damage done by his party's first two years in power.
asserted
Burnham → address → power
Farmers were left furious after then-chancellor Rachel Reeves announced plans to levy a 20 per cent inheritance charge on assets worth more than £1million, ending a waiver in place since the 1980s.
asserted
Reeves → leave → 1980s
But after protests by rural communities, ministers raised the threshold to £2.5million so most farms would not have to pay.
asserted
farms → raise → 2.5million
Campaigners say it will still hit ordinary working family farms.
asserted
it → say → farms
Lord Blunkett blamed 'Treasury economic orthodoxy' for the hated plan.
asserted
Blunkett → blame → plan
'I think the family tax, the family farm imposition, was a mistake – a mistake made in the Treasury represented by my own party,' he said, adding it had 'touched a nerve'.
asserted
it → think → nerve
He later told the BBC: 'We've never won so many rural seats since 1945 – around 135 Labour MPs are either rural or semi-rural – and their voices need to be heard much more clearly.
asserted
voices → tell → 1945
'If you're an urban dweller all your life and you've got Treasury economic orthodoxy in your soul, you won't understand that family farms are only family because they are passed down from one generation to another.'
asserted
they → get → another
Labour veteran Lord Blunkett has admitted this week that his party's family farm tax was a 'mistake'
asserted
tax → admit → ?
Blunkett backed calls for new Prime Minister Andy Burnham to oversee a a 'rural reset'
asserted
Burnham → back → reset
The peer also called for the ban on trail hunting set out in the 2024 manifesto to be scrapped.
asserted
peer → call → manifesto
He was speaking alongside former prime minister David Cameron, who criticised Labour's 'attack on shooting'.
asserted
who → speak → shooting
'It's not just the shoots that suffer if they get attacked.
asserted
they → suffer → ?
It's the pubs, it's the restaurants, it's the places where people stay, it's the people that work in the shoots,' Lord Cameron added.
asserted
Cameron → stay → shoots
Meanwhile, Minette Batters, the former president of the National Farmers' Union, said it was 'time for a rural reset'.
asserted
it → say → reset
Tim Bonner, the Countryside Alliance chief executive, listed 27 Government policies that his organisation opposed.
asserted
organisation → list → that
These included the extension of inheritance tax to farms, plans to ban trail hunting, changes in betting rules and the tighter shooting regulations.
asserted
These → include → rules
The Prime Minister's spokesman said Mr Burnham wanted to 'rebuild trust' with farmers and rural communities.
asserted
Burnham → say → farmers
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