Kemi Badenoch attacks ‘cruel tax on family farms’ in PMQ’s debut

Kemi Badenoch has attacked the government’s “cruel tax on family farms” as she denounced inheritance tax budget measures in her first questions as Conservative leader.

She also accused ministers of ‘student politics’ and said Sir Keir Starmer read from scripted lines during her opening hearing.

Ms Badenoch claimed her party would reverse inheritance tax changes announced last week, and asked the Government to ‘reassure’ farmers concerned about the measure.

In her Budget questions, the Tory leader said: “We’ve heard him repeat the lines on television, ‘fix the foundations’ and so on.

“What does he say to farmers who are facing uncertainty about their future as a result of the higher taxes announced by the Chancellor?”

She said the Conservatives would “reverse Labour’s cruel tax on family farms” and asked the Prime Minister to “reassure the farming community”.

Moments earlier, she had claimed that the Prime Minister’s “script lines show that he did not even listen to the budget himself”.

The government has been embroiled in a row over their announcement that agricultural assets worth more than £1 million would no longer be exempt from inheritance tax. Opposition MPs have called on ministers to reverse the move announced in last week’s budget.

From April 2026, the plans would see a 20% tax levied on the value of inherited agricultural assets above £1 million.

While this still represents a 50% tax cut compared to the standard rate, the move has come under attack from farming unions and opposition critics, who have argued it would make Britain more dependent on imports.

Sir Keir replied: “I am pleased to be able to help the Leader of the Opposition. If she’s going to complain about scripted answers, it’s probably best not to read it from a script.

“I’m glad she raised farmers. Because last week’s Budget put £5 billion into agriculture over the next two years. That is the largest increase, in contrast to the £300 million underutilized under the previous government.

“But when it comes to inheritance, the vast majority of farmers will not be affected, as they well know; as they well know.”

Ms Badenoch also hit out at the government’s defense plans, claiming “the budget didn’t even mention defence”.

Her official spokesperson later said: “If you look at the full context, she was referring to the fact that Labor have not set out their plans to reach 2.5% (of GDP for defense spending), and indeed it is not only those who say so: the OBR has said that significant defense spending ambitions remain unfunded.”

The Prime Minister’s press secretary had suggested Ms Badenoch was “threatening to mislead” the House, which Ms Badenoch’s spokesman disagreed with.

Defense was mentioned in the Budget speech, which set out what Rachel Reeves called “a path to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence”.

Sir Keir told Ms Badenoch that “the one thing I have learned as Opposition Leader is that it is a good idea to listen to what the Government is actually saying.”

The exchanges over the budget came after both Sir Keir and Ms Badenoch congratulated US President-elect Donald Trump on his victory, and she took the opportunity to press the Prime Minister over his relationship with the new US leader.

Ms Badenoch asked the Prime Minister to invite the President-elect to speak in Parliament the next time he visits Britain, pointing to the row over Labor activists campaigning for Kamala Harris.

“I am very sure that President Trump will be calling soon to thank him for sending all those North London Labor activists to campaign for his opponent,” she told the House of Commons.

“Given that most of his cabinet has signed a motion to ban President Trump from addressing Parliament, the Prime Minister will show that he and his government can be more than student politicians by asking you, Mr Speaker, to invite President Trump to address Parliament on his next visit?”

In response, the Prime Minister thanked his colleague for “a masterclass in student politics”.

The Conservative leader had previously asked the Prime Minister to apologize for earlier comments by his Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, over comments accusing Mr Trump of being a “misogynistic neo-Nazi sympathizing sociopath”.

Sir Keir told the House of Representatives: “The Secretary of State and I met President-elect Trump a few weeks ago for a dinner lasting about a few hours, and we discussed a number of issues of global importance. It was a very constructive exercise.”

Ms Badenoch was flanked during the session by her shadow chancellor Mel Stride and shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel – both fellow leadership candidates.

She announced her shadow cabinet earlier this week, and it is thought Ms Badenoch was keen to reach the wings of the whole party.