A change at the top of the Labour Party is unlikely to deliver significant improvements for farming or rural communities, according to the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers (CAAV).
The organisation has urged landowners and farmers to remain cautious about speculation surrounding the future direction of government policy following Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s announcement that he intends to step down as Labour leader.
Attention has turned to Labour MP for Makerfield, Andy Burnham, who is widely expected to replace Starmer. However, the CAAV believes there is little evidence so far to suggest agriculture would move higher up the political agenda under a new administration.
CAAV secretary and adviser Jeremy Moody said much of the debate surrounding Burnham’s policy agenda was based on conjecture rather than firm commitments.
“A lot of things have been said by Andy Burnham, and a lot of things have been unsaid by him. So much of the current talk is just people projecting their hopes and fears onto his uncertain canvas.”
The organisation noted that a range of potential policy ideas had been attributed to the Labour MP, including changes to land taxation, wealth taxes and capital gains tax, but stressed that none should be treated as settled policy.
Even if a new Prime Minister sought to introduce major reforms, Moody believes wider political and economic pressures would dominate the government’s early agenda.
“If he gets into power, he’ll have to pick a chancellor, choose defence and energy policies, and see who he disillusions. He then has an election that’s only two or three years away. He faces many much larger problems that came nowhere near the Mayor of Manchester’s in-tray; it could easily be that we are looking at a re-run of the past two years.”
The CAAV also questioned whether agriculture would receive greater attention under a new Labour leader, pointing to the limited focus on farming issues during Burnham’s recent political campaigning. According to the organisation, there is little indication that rural policy would become a higher priority than wider cost-of-living measures.
The association also suggested that hopes of reversing recent inheritance tax changes affecting agricultural property may be premature, arguing that any significant shift in policy could depend on the timing and outcome of a future general election. Recent reforms will restrict full agricultural property relief to the first £2.5 million of qualifying assets, with 50% relief applying above that level from April 2026.
Alongside the leadership debate, the CAAV has reminded landowners that further environmental regulation remains on the horizon. The proposed Clean Water Bill, expected to be set out in more detail later this year, could introduce additional obligations aimed at tackling agricultural pollution alongside measures affecting water companies.
Moody urged farmers to prepare in advance for tighter regulation. “While there is a focus on water companies at the moment, the knife will spin, so farmers need to get compliant before it does.”
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