Markus Campbell-Savours, the Labour Member of Parliament for Penrith and Solway, has been suspended from his party after a dramatic rebellion in the House of Commons over the government’s new inheritance tax plans targeting British farmers. The move, which took place on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, has sent ripples across the political landscape, highlighting deep divisions within Labour’s ranks and reigniting longstanding debates about rural policy, taxation, and trust in government.
At the heart of the controversy is the government’s proposal to impose a 20% inheritance tax on agricultural estates and businesses valued above £1 million. The measure, first announced in the October 2024 Budget and set to take effect from April 2026, is projected to raise £520 million annually by 2029, according to BBC News. The rate is half that of the standard inheritance tax, but it marks a stark reversal of agricultural property relief (APR) that has shielded family farms from such levies since the 1980s.
For Campbell-Savours, whose rural Cumbrian constituency includes 1,665 farms, the policy was a step too far. During the heated Commons debate, he warned, “There remain deep concerns about the proposed changes to agricultural property relief. Changes which leave many, not least elderly farmers, yet to make arrangements to transfer assets, devastated at the impact on their family farms.” He went on to emphasize his personal commitment to his constituents, stating, “When the good people of Penrith and Solway decide my time here is up, I intend to walk around my community knowing that I did all I could for them. I gave my word and I intend to keep it.” (The Independent).
Campbell-Savours was the only Labour MP to vote against the government’s inheritance tax plan, though dozens of his colleagues abstained in protest—a move encouraged by the National Farmers Union (NFU) as a way to pressure ministers to reconsider. The Commons ultimately approved the measure by 327 votes to 182, but the 84 Labour MPs who did not participate marked a significant internal rift. One member of Labour’s Rural Research Group told the BBC that about 30 backbenchers had actively chosen to abstain, underscoring the policy’s contentiousness in rural areas.
The fallout was swift. On Wednesday, December 3, 2025, Chief Whip Jonathan Reynolds informed Campbell-Savours that he had been suspended from the Labour party, stripping him of the whip and effectively making him an independent MP. The party’s leadership, keen to enforce discipline on a key Budget measure, appeared unmoved by rural dissent—even as it faced mounting criticism from farmers and its own MPs.
The new tax plan has been met with fierce opposition from the farming community and rural advocates. Protests erupted across the country, with farmers warning that the tax could force the break-up or sale of family farms. “Without change, the family farm tax will trap the most vulnerable members of our community, the elderly and terminally ill, with no ability to plan. It’s inhumane and it’s cruel,” said NFU President Tom Bradshaw (The Independent).
Supporters of the measure, including Treasury minister James Murray, argue that the changes are fair and necessary. “The changes that we have set out to agricultural property relief are a fair way forward. They represent generous relief for people, while raising money for the public finances,” Murray told MPs (ITV Border). The government insists that the £1 million threshold, combined with standard reliefs of up to £500,000 per person, will protect small family farms. In a concession announced at the November 26, 2025 Budget, unused portions of the £1 million allowance can now be transferred to spouses and civil partners—a move expected to reduce the tax take by £70 million annually. Yet critics, including Labour’s own rural MPs, say the concession does not go nearly far enough.
Samantha Niblett, Labour MP for South Derbyshire, abstained on the vote and pleaded with the government to reconsider. “Most farmers are not wealthy land barons; they live hand to mouth on tiny, sometimes non-existent profit margins. We must acknowledge a difficult truth: we have lost the trust of our farmers, and they deserve our utmost respect, our honesty and our unwavering support,” she told the Commons (The National).
Other Labour backbenchers echoed these concerns, arguing the tax fails to address abuses by wealthy celebrities and billionaires who purchase farmland to exploit tax relief. Terry Jermy, MP for South West Norfolk, noted that the policy “has failed to tackle the abuse by the celebrities and the billionaires who buy farmland to avoid paying a full inheritance tax bill” (The Independent).
For Campbell-Savours, the rebellion was a matter of principle and promise. In an interview with ITV Border, he accused Labour frontbenchers of reneging on pre-election commitments not to touch agricultural property relief. “Many farmers feared this was coming. Some transferred in advance. Others contacted Labour candidates who reassured them, based on public commitments from the then shadow secretary of state for Defra, that APR would not be touched. I was one of those Labour candidates, and it’s for that reason I’ll be voting against the Budget resolution enabling these changes,” he declared.
The political implications are significant. While the government secured a comfortable majority for the measure, the scale of abstentions among Labour MPs signals deep unease within the party’s rural wing. The National Farmers Union’s call for abstention, and the visible protests in Westminster, point to a growing sense of alienation among countryside voters—a group Labour has historically struggled to win over.
Despite his suspension, there is speculation that Campbell-Savours could see the Labour whip restored within a few months, following the precedent set by four other MPs who were recently reinstated after similar rebellions on benefits reform. For now, he sits as an independent, his future uncertain but his stance clear.
As the dust settles, the debate over the so-called “family farm tax” shows no sign of abating. With rural livelihoods and political loyalties at stake, the government’s inheritance tax policy will likely remain a flashpoint in British politics for months to come.
For the farming families of Penrith and Solway—and indeed across the UK—the outcome of this battle may well shape the future of the British countryside for generations.
