Darlington farmer says inheritance tax bill could force farm sale

A farmer says if she were to die, her children would have to find £500,000 in inheritance tax.

Clare Wise’s family have had Manor Farm, near Darlington, County Durham, since 1875, but she fears changes introduced in last month’s Budget mean she will not be able to pass it onto her daughters.

“You wouldn’t ask a plumber to sell his tools and keep on working, but that’s what we’re being asked to do,” she said.

A government spokesperson said it had inherited a “£22bn fiscal hole” and with “public services crumbling” it had made a difficult decision to ensure the relief on inheritance tax was “fiscally sustainable”.