REVEALED: The ten rural Labour MPs under most pressure to REBEL as Conservatives force vote on hated farm tax

Rural and semi-rural Labour MPs will have a grim decision to make this week when they are forced to vote on the controversial farm tax on Wednesday.

Kemi Badenoch’s Conservative Party are using their opposition day to put forward a motion cancelling controversial changes to farmers’ inheritance tax announced in Labour’s recent Budget.

Most backbench MPs will have had no idea about Reeves’ inheritance tax hike before the budget, but this vote will force them to support or oppose it publicly.

That means rural Labour MPs, many of which were elected on razor thin majorities, will have to vote down the motion to keep in Labour’s good books, therefore directly supporting the imposing of death duties on an industry already on its knees.

By doing so they will provoke fury amongst their constituents and have to face a barrage of angry emails and criticism.

Much of this will be centred on Labour’s promise to not touch farmers’ inheritance tax before the election, a pledge they have said they had to break after finding a £22billion black hole.

The alternative for rural Labour MPs is to rebel against the government, something many fresh-faced members five months into their parliamentary careers will be keen to avoid.

This is particularly so after Starmer removed the Labour whip from seven MPs who defied him to vote for an opposition amendment calling for the two-child benefit cap to be scrapped.

Mo Metcalf-Fisher, Director of External Affairs at the Countryside Alliance said: “The Treasury still appears to be in denial about the reality this unpopular policy will have on the future of British farming.

“This is despite repeated warnings from rural stakeholders that the impact figures they have used to justify the tax hike are alarmingly short-sighted.

“It is important that the rural community and concerned members of the public bombard MPs email inboxes ahead of Wednesday’s vote, so they understand the strength of feeling out there against the family farm tax.

“We need MPs, irrespective of party, to stand up for our farmers on Wednesday and we hope that Rachel Reeves reconsiders this damaging policy before it’s too late.”

GB News has analysed rural constituencies across Britain and generated the ten Labour MPs who will be under most pressure to break ranks this Wednesday.

Mid and South Pembrokeshire / Henry Tufnell

Britain’s ‘poshest MP’ made headlines this week after the Mail revealed his family moved hundreds of acres into tax efficient trusts days before Reeves announced her inheritance tax hike.

Representing a rural seat in Pembrokeshire, the privately educated ex-barrister has come under fire for overegging his links to the seat and the farming community.

He will be under immense pressure to defy the whip on Wednesday from his constituents who gave him a small 1,878 vote majority in July.

Derbyshire Dales / John Whitby

With 1,275 registered farms in the constituency, the Derbyshire Dales has one of the highest numbers of farms in the UK, and one of the smallest majorities.

Labour won the seat by just 350 votes, with the Tories close behind. The prospect of voting to impose farm-threatening death duties on many of his constituents will not fill Whitby with hope.

South West Norfolk / Terry Jermy

The Labour MP for South West Norfolk has already begun breaking ranks on social media, calling for reassurance “on the scale of the impact and confirmation that the figures are accurate.”

Mr Jermy is facing pressure from constituents in South West Norfolk, a predominantly rural constituency with 408 farm holdings previously represented by Liz Truss.

The former PM won the seat by 630 votes in July.

Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr / Steve Witherden

Another who has been questioning the Treasury’s modelling of inheritance tax has been Labour MP Steve Witherden.

With around 4,766 farms in the Powys area, which includes Mr Witherden’s seat, the new MP will be feeling nervous about publicly backing Reeves’ hike on Wednesday.

No doubt emails will be flooding into Witherden’s inbox, many from Reform voters whose candidate came second in July 3,815 votes behind Labour.

North West Cambridgeshire / Sam Carling

The 22-year-old ‘baby of the house’ will not be relishing the opportunity of defying the whip, but the alternative is to anger many hundreds of his rural constituents.

Carling was elected as Labour MP with a miniscule majority of 39.

Llanelli / Nia Griffith

Another farming heavy constituency in Wales, Labour’s Nia Griffith faces the choice of condemning farms in her patch to extinction under Reeves’ tax plan or voting to cancel the measure and possibly losing the whip.

To make matters worse for Griffith, Reform UK is breathing down her neck as they are in many parts of Wales.

Reform’s Gareth Beer came second here by 1,504 votes in the General Election.

Stirling and Strathallan / Chris Kane

In Scotland, newly elected Labour MP Chris Kane will be feeling the heat on Wednesday.

He won it from the SNP’s Alyn Smith with a small majority of 1,394, but with public support for farmers swelling Kane will be thinking about the impact on his majority as he heads for the voting lobbies on Wednesday.

Forest of Dean / Matt Bishop

With 751 farms registered in this constituency alone, Labour MP Matt Bishop is in an awkward position when it comes to voting on Wednesday.

Bishop replaced former Tory big beast Mark Harper in July, but only by 278 votes. By backing Reeves’ hike, Bishop looks set to lose the tiny majority keeping him in power at the next election.

He told the Independent that he wants to “reassure my constituents that my focus on farming and rural issues remains unwavering”. But will his vote on Wednesday match up with his words?

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Speaking ahead of the debate, Victoria Atkins, the shadow environment secretary, said: “Labour MPs have a choice to make. Will they vote to axe the tax, and save the family farm?

“Or will they turn their backs on rural communities and back the Budget of broken promises?

“Thousands of farmers descended on Westminster to try and make the Government listen. So far, they’ve refused. Labour MPs now have a chance to back British farming.”

The Conservatives will table the motion on Wednesday with a vote expected in the evening.