Commenting on the latest ONS report, Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart said: “The figures are staggering and its time the Prime Minister and the Chancellor realised that the alarm bells are ringing loud and clear. Their draconian ‘death tax’ plans are driving farmers, and those involved is forestry and fishing, out of business at an unprecedented rate.

“British farming is in decline at a rapid rate, largely due to a lack of confidence and uncertainty, prompted by the Chancellor’s autumn budget plans to raise national insurance and abolish historic tax relief, paving way for a 20% inheritance tax burden on farm assets worth over £1m.”

Ms Lockhart, the DUP’s agriculture, environment and rural affairs spokesperson, has been vocally opposed to the move since it was announced. She said: “The Labour government’s inheritance tax plans are unacceptable.

“Businesses are being decimated, jobs are being lost, mental health referrals are at an all-time high, and national food security is facing significant challenges. Crippling national insurance hikes are also bringing the shutters down on many of our local businesses and high street chains.

“Enough is enough. The message is clearer than ever before – No Farmers, No Food!

“The economy is in decline and the government is under ‘self-inflicted’ pressure from across the entire agri-food industry. It was almost embarrassing to watch the Prime Minister’s uneasy and pitiful performance during this week’s televised press conference in Turnberry with US President Donald Trump.”

The MP added: “The President was blunt, calling out a number of the government’s controversial policy decisions which are impacting the British economy. He was heavily critical of the pending inheritance tax plans due to be introduced in April 2026, advising a squirming Sir Keir Starmer to “slash taxes, stop illegal immigration and enhance national security” if he wants to triumph at the next election.

“The government is focused on delivering Net Zero and creating green energy. This was another element directly criticised by Donald Trump, who described offshore wind turbines as “as ugly and very expensive energy that he wouldn’t allow in the USA”.  Rather than subsidising wind energy, the President told the Prime Minister that “drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea would provide a treasure chest for the UK”.

Carla Lockhart said: “Let’s hope the Prime Minister was listening to his American counterpart, especially on the issue of inheritance tax for farmers. Neither he or the Chancellor have been listening to farmers, or industry stakeholders, over the last nine months.

“Family farms are the backbone of rural life across Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The pending ‘farm tax grab’ will impact succession planning, threaten food security and put family farms at risk.

“It is wrong to punish farmers for passing their land and business assets down through the generations. This tax is a direct attack on everything that rural communities stand for. Proposed inheritance tax changes must be scrapped!”

During the meeting in Scotland, President Trump made it clear that America ended its estate tax to save family farms. He said: “Farmers don’t make a lot of money, but they love their way of life. Farmers are land rich and cash poor, and it is wrong to expect farmers to face taxation on inherited agricultural land.”

America introduced the Death Tax Repeal Act to safeguard the transfer of agricultural property when someone dies. Donald Trump told the Prime Minister: “There is an important clause in our legislation, because we were losing a lot of farms to the banks. Farmers borrowed the money to pay the death duties, but couldn’t honour the debt. Now when the parents leave a farm to the kids, they don’t have to worry about their local banker stealing the farm.”

The US agriculture secretary, Brooke Rollins, also delivered a stark warning to the government to “put farmers first” during her visit to London in May.

In conclusion Ms Lockhart said: “We are at a pivotal crossroads for the agri-food sector, and the government needs to plan its next move carefully. There are several options on the table. The government must do the right thing – there is too much stake.”