'Unexpected Christmas present': Leading Shropshire farmer welcomes Government climbdown on controversial farm inheritance tax plans
Shropshire farmers have welcomed the Government's climbdown over inheritance tax plans for farms as an "early Christmas present".
Richard Yates, who farms near Bridgnorth, described the watering down of the plans as "a massive, unexpected Christmas present".
But he warned that significant numbers of farmers would neither trust, nor vote, for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer again.
Under the changes announced on Tuesday (December 23) the farm tax inheritance threshold will increase from £1 million to £2.5 million.
Mr Yates, who is a former chairman of the Shropshire branch of the National Farmers' Union, said the Government climbdown had come about as a result of both an "extensive, co-ordinated lobbying machine" organised by the NFU - along with dissent from around 100 rural Labour MPs.
He added that NFU president Tom Bradshaw had met with the Prime Minister and the Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds last week.
He said: "This is a game changer. I just wish this had come a year ago.
"There are some very sad situations where elderly people have done the unthinkable and are no longer here, simply to try to not pass a huge debt onto their children.
