The only Labour MP to vote against the party’s inheritance tax clampdown on farmers has been suspended, exposing cracks in Sir Keir Starmer’s frontline. Markus Campbell-Savours, the MP for Penrith and Solway in rural Cumbria, broke ranks in a Commons vote, standing up for his farming community despite Labour orders.
Farmers’ Champion Rebels Against Party Line
Last night, Campbell-Savours said he had to do everything to protect local farmers. He argued most are “not wealthy land barons” but hardworking families hit by unfair tax hikes. Critics slam the policy for missing the real culprits — rich celebs and billionaires exploiting farmland to dodge full inheritance tax bills.
Despite fierce opposition, Labour’s controversial change to agricultural property relief passed with a 145-vote majority (327 to 182). Campbell-Savours faced swift consequences, losing the Labour whip today — his defiance making him the latest rebel exiled by Starmer’s leadership.
Lonely Labour Rebel Amid a Sea of Abstainers
The Cumbrian MP stood alone against the tax hike alongside Tory rebels, while over 80 Labour MPs chose to abstain. This mass abstention reveals deep disquiet within Labour ranks over the farming tax policy.
“There remain deep concerns about the proposed changes to agricultural property relief… many elderly farmers devastated at the impact on their family farms,” Campbell-Savours said during the Commons debate.
“I was one of those Labour candidates reassuring constituents that relief wouldn’t be touched. That promise I can’t break, so I had to vote against the Budget resolution.”
Backbench MP Chooses Community Over Party
Campbell-Savours insists his duty to constituents comes first. “I want to walk around my community knowing I did all I could for them,” he said. The MP took the hit for his farming voters despite knowing suspension was likely.
The Chancellor’s Budget offered a partial concession: unused agricultural property relief allowance can now be transferred between spouses. But farmers remain furious, saying the £1 million threshold for the new 20% tax on agricultural land and businesses is far too low, threatening family farms.
Labour insiders confirm Chief Whip Jonathan Reynolds took the whip off Campbell-Savours on Wednesday, making him an independent MP until any appeal or reinstatement.
Starmer’s Rubicon: No Tolerance for Rebels
- Campbell-Savours is the latest rebel suspended for defying Labour’s strict three-line whip rules.
- Over 80 MPs abstained, quietly signalling dissent while avoiding suspension.
- The backbench rebellion highlights tension between party policy and rural constituents.
- Critics charge the tax hits working farmers unfairly, leaving loopholes for rich landowners.
Campbell-Savours’ suspension shows the political price of putting voters before party bosses. His stand won praise from farming communities but adds fuel to the fire engulfing Labour’s rural support.
As protests mount and tensions rise, Sir Keir faces a delicate balancing act between tight party control and keeping rural heartlands onside.
Stay tuned for all the latest on this brewing Labour crisis, only on Britannia Daily.
