Town halls across the country are openly rebelling against the 'family farm tax', with Labour MPs under mounting pressure to public oppose the policy.
Numerous councils have passed motions calling on the government to axe the measure which they say represents an 'assault' on the countryside.
Of the 22 councils to vote through motions, several include those where Labour has newly elected MPs who are now facing rebellions from their town hall leaders, including Norfolk and Cornwall.
The areas represent almost 10 million people, equivalent to 15.8 % of the population across England and Wales, or one in six Britons.
Rural campaigners at the Countryside Alliance are pushing for more councils to publicly distance themselves from the policy in the new year.
Under the changes, which come into force from April 2026, farms worth more than £1 million will be subject to a 20 percent levy, half the usual inheritance tax rate.
Rural groups argue that the £1million threshold will hit the majority of working family farms, asset-rich but cash-poor, instead of targeting wealthy landowners seeking to avoid inheritance tax.
In Rushcliffe, where the Labour MP James Naish overturned a previous Tory majority, the district council passed a motion demanding that he lobbies the Chancellor to drop the plans.
Cllr Neil Clarke, the leader of Rushcliffe Council, warned that the changes to inheritance tax “threaten to cripple many family farms” which have “no means to pay such punitive amounts”.
Meanwhile, Jon Pearce, the Labour MP for High Peak, has been side-lined by his borough council and the local authority will be writing to the Chancellor directly to urge an about-turn.
Other town halls to pass motions expressing their dismay include Devon County Council and Norfolk County Council, where councillors hit out at the chancellor’s “assault” on the countryside and “rural way of life”.
Cornwall, Kent, North Northamptonshire, Rutland, Somerset, Suffolk and Buckinghamshire councils also passed motions against the policy.
Mo Metcalf-Fisher of the Countryside Alliance said: “The list of councils opposing the family farm tax is growing quickly and we expect more will be signing up in the New Year.
“This is undoubtedly a challenge for those rural Labour MPs representing seats in these council areas, many of whom understandably feel like they’ve been thrown under the bus by this hated policy.”
