PM ‘absolutely confident’ that ‘vast majority’ of farms will be exempt as union prepares protests in London

Keir Starmer has vehemently defended the imposition of inheritance tax on farms, as a new analysis suggested farmers are being increasingly squeezed out of the market for agricultural land by wealthy investors.

Amid an battle between the government and the National Farmer’s Union (NFU) over what proportion of farms could be affected by the change, announced in last month’s budget, Starmer said he was “absolutely confident” that the overwhelming majority of farmers would be exempt.