More than 6,200 farming businesses have closed since the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, announced plans in her first budget last year to levy inheritance tax on family farms worth more than £1 million.
The figures, which cover the 12 months to October, represent the highest number of closures since records began in 2017.
Farmers have been celebrating after Sir Keir Starmer abandoned the measure, announcing on Tuesday that the threshold for the duty would rise from £1 million to £2.5 million. It means that 85 per cent of farmers will no longer be liable for the tax, up from 75 per cent previously.
Senior agricultural figures welcomed the news — but warned that irreversible damage had been done to the sector. The Times.
