Farmers across Britain have declared that voting for Labour would now be akin to "signing your own death warrant", as trust in the party evaporates two years after Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to protect the industry. The Daily Express spoke to farmers in Kent, Leicestershire, and Shropshire who said the government’s policies have permanently alienated the agricultural sector.
Inheritance tax changes spark fury
The government’s most publicised attack on the sector was a 20% inheritance tax on agricultural land worth over £1 million from April 2026, replacing a previous exemption. The threshold was later raised to £2.5 million after backlash over its impact on ordinary working farms, which are asset-rich but cash-poor. But for many, the damage was done.
Alastair Large, 36, whose family have farmed fruit in Kent since the 1700s, said voting Labour now would amount to “signing your own death warrant”. He said: “I’ve never voted for Labour, but I can understand why people did at the last election. Now I can confidently say they’ve lost that vote for at least a generation. We’re all working to such thin margins as it is. And all the government has done is pile punitive taxes on us and create a bad image of us as money-hoarding landowners.”
Rising costs and carbon tax deepen alienation
Rising costs, volatile prices and a proposed carbon tax on imported fertilisers have further deepened the sector’s alienation from Westminster. Alastair added: “I think it’s an ideological thing - prioritising other sectors, like renewable energy, over domestic food production. The Labour Party has historically had an ability to reinvent itself. But it doesn’t feel like that’s on the horizon now.”
Greg Parkes, 33, a fourth-generation beef farmer on the Leicestershire-Warwickshire border, said the Government’s empty promises of protecting the sector betrayed an incompatibility between party politics and agriculture. “There’s no party I’ve got a real appetite to vote for, because it’s so hard to know if they’re genuinely engaging with us or just trying to score points,” he said. “Politics operates on five-year periods and with farming, you have to have a longer outlook than that.”
Polling suggests Labour would lose almost all rural seats
The erosion of trust extends beyond farmers. More in Common polling in January suggested that, were an election held then, Labour would win just two semi-rural seats and not a single fully-rural constituency. Labour won 135 rural and semi-rural seats in 2024, following Starmer’s pledge to protect the industry.
Stephen Thompson, 65, whose family have farmed in the Moss Valley for over 100 years, voted Labour before to support a well-regarded local MP - but won’t again. “I would never vote Labour now. I won’t forgive them for this death tax,” he said. “They came into power and immediately targeted us like they targeted pensioners. It was a textbook example of what not to do.”
Food security concerns tied to government neglect
Kelly Seaton, 36, a dairy farmer on the Shropshire-Cheshire border, tied the backlash to food security concerns. “With the conflicts in Ukraine, Iran and Israel, we need that steadfast backing of government,” she said. “People can see farming isn’t regarded as a key sector, which leaves us in a very vulnerable position.”
Mo Metcalf-Fisher, director of external affairs at the Countryside Alliance, said Labour’s rural fortunes now hinge on incoming leader Andy Burnham. “Mr Burnham has said he’s minded to revisit both the inheritance tax changes on family farms and the tax rise on pubs,” he said. “But perhaps the most telling intervention would be halting Defra’s drift towards culture war in the countryside, including plans to restrict game shooting. Rural people want government to legislate for them, not against them.”
Government defends record
A Defra spokesperson said: “This government is putting our full weight behind farmers - giving them the funding, tools and opportunities they need to succeed and grow their businesses to feed the nation. We have put in place the first long-term vision for farming since the Second World War, backed by £11.8 billion of investment, to support a profitable and sustainable sector. We have protected our farmers in trade deals - opening up new markets for exports while maintaining our high standards - made supply chains fairer so farmers get a better return, and set the course for the next generation of farmers to feed the nation for decades to come.”
