Reform UK MP Lee Anderson has furiously confronted Angela Rayner during a tense PMQs [Prime Minister’s Questions].
He called on the Deputy Prime Minister to acknowledge the harms that could be caused by Labour’s inheritance tax changes.
“Just a few weeks ago from that despatch box, the minister for rural affairs said he had been congratulated by a farmer over the introduction of the inheritance tax”, he said.
“I think this farmer must have been a cannabis farmer”, he remarked – much to the delight of several MPs who erupted with laughter.
Anderson and Rayner locked horns in the Commons
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“Does the Deputy Prime Minister agree with me that this decision should be thrown in the trashcan along with Rachel from accounts’s CV?”
Anderson made reference to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who has been embroiled in a row about her own CV after it emerged she made amendments to her LinkedIn page.
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Farmers showed up in their thousands to protest
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It emerged that Reeves claimed she was an economist on an official document at a time when her recently-updated LinkedIn profile says she was not.
No 10 have batted away concerns, with a spokesman saying Reeves is “straight with the public about the state of public finances”.
Anderson’s remarks were rallied against by Rayner, who stepped in for the absent Keir Starmer at today’s PMQs session.
“Mr Speaker, he talks about CVs, it’s good to see the honourable member doing well on his bench”, she said.
Lee Anderson took Angela Rayner’s jibe in good spirit
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“Once a Labour councillor, then a Tory MP and now a Reform chief whip. Every time he switches party, he gets a promotion!”
She added: “Mr Speaker, I have already outlined what we’ve done to support our farmers. We will continue to support them and continue to invest in our public services to get Britain back on track.”
It comes a day after thousands of farmers descended on the capital to protest over changes to inheritance tax.
Labour has repeatedly denied that they have underestimated how many will be affected by plans to limit 100 per cent property relief to the first £1 million of agricultural assets.
They claim only around 500 farms will be affected by the changes, something furiously disputed by many in the agricultural sector.
Under the plans, full inheritance tax relief will be restricted to the first £1 million of combined agricultural and business property relief, above which landowners will pay a rate of 20%, compared with 40 per cent on other estates.
The measure comes into effect in April 2026 and can be paid in instalments over 10 years interest free, the Government has said.
It comes on top of other exemptions, so that two people with farmland could pass on up to £3 million without anything being paid, depending on their circumstances.
