Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK and Member of Parliament for Clacton, has vowed to abolish inheritance tax if his party wins the next general election, as reported by The Telegraph.
His announcement follows a surge in support for Reform UK, which has overtaken Labour in national polling for the first time. According to LOESS regression analysis of UK and GB voting intention polls from reputable pollsters recorded by the UK Election Data Vault, Reform now leads with 25.5% support, narrowly ahead of Labour at 25.4%.
The next general election must legally take place by August 21, 2029, at the latest. The Government has recently come under fire for major inheritance tax changes introduced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in the October Budget.
Under Ms. Reeves’ reforms, agricultural property relief will be cut from 2026, and private pensions will become subject to inheritance tax from 2027.
These changes have sparked fierce opposition, particularly from the farming community. Critics argue that reducing agricultural property relief threatens family farms and national food security. Thousands of farmers are expected to be affected when the relief is reduced in 2026. Speaking to GB News at a protest in central London against the Government’s tax policies, Mr. Farage condemned inheritance tax, stating:
“Inheritance tax is double taxation. People have already paid tax on this – why should they be taxed again when they die? We would get rid of inheritance tax. It’s a really nasty tax that hits people at the most difficult moment in their lives, just after losing their parents. So we would abolish inheritance tax.”
Labour’s inheritance tax reforms are expected to double the number of families affected by the levy by the end of the decade. From April 2027, the decision to extend inheritance tax to pension wealth will pull an estimated 31,200 families into paying the tax for the first time by 2030. Additionally, around 121,500 families already subject to inheritance tax will see their bills increase as a result. James Ward, head of Private Client at law firm Kingsley Napley, commented:
“Nigel Farage may think his promise to abolish IHT is a vote winner, with an increasing number of estates being hit by unreformed IHT thresholds. But he hasn’t said where he would expect to make up the £8.3bn shortfall in revenue to the Treasury that the OBR forecasts this tax will deliver this year 2024-5
Interestingly our recent YouGov poll on IHT (see below) showed support for the idea of abolishing inheritance tax altogether actually fell last year versus the year before, probably because most people recognise the dire state of the public finances.
Whilst it is a deeply unpopular tax that many would rather not pay, I imagine most are realistic that a complete abolition is unlikely to happen any time soon. In fact, a good result on IHT at the moment would probably be that Rachel Reeves doesn’t look to increase it in her Spring Statement given the huge pressure she is under to find cover for a rise in defence spending.”
