Labor MP’s family transferred form before budget
Henry Tufnell/XThe parents of a Labor MP transferred ownership of farmland to one of their sons just days before changes to inheritance tax rules were announced.
Questions have been asked about whether Henry Tufnell, MP for Mid and South Pembrokeshire, informed his parents about the proposed changes.
On 10 October his father and mother, Mark and Jane Tufnell, passed Upper Colne Farm and Stud to another son, Albert Marl.
Tufnell declined to comment on Nuidian S4C but a spokeswoman said Local Democracy Reporting Service It was “improbable” that the MP could have known about the changes before they became public.
There is no suggestion that Tufnells has done anything illegal.
It was announced in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget on 30 October that inherited agricultural properties worth more than £1 million will be subject to inheritance tax at a rate of 20% from April 2026.
Agricultural land is currently exempt from inheritance tax.
The policy change has given rise to protests among farmers.
Hefyn Jones, a plaid Cymru councilor and president of the Carmarthenshire National Farmers Union (NFU) Cymru branch, said the situation around the Tufnell family was looking bad.
He said: “When you have a Labor member… potentially using information that he may know about, when there are so many Welsh businesses that could suffer as a result of this policy.. .So it definitely raises a question.”
Tory councilor Aled Thomas, a farmer in Tufnell’s constituency, said: “Why has this change been made just before the Budget? Henry has questions to answer.
“At the end of the day Henry will be accountable to the people of Pembrokeshire and they will make their own judgment about what he did or did not know.”
A spokesman for the Mid and South Pembrokeshire Labor MP said, “It would be impossible to suggest that Henry – a backbench MP – would have such knowledge of the Chancellor’s budget announcements before they were made public”.
He added: “The steps taken by Henry’s parents were based on professional advice from qualified financial advisers, reflecting prudent and responsible management of their family affairs.”
Mr Tufnell’s parents and brother have contacted New Zealand S4C for comment.
