The new "family farm tax" means putting at risk nature-friendly schemes and food security.

Last week in Parliament, I spoke against a new farming tax that the Government says could affect more than 250 farms across Mid and East Devon.

The constituency of Honiton and Sidmouth stretches from Axminster in the east to Ottery St Mary in the west; from Sidmouth in the south to Cullompton in the north.

It includes many rural communities, with over 1,000 farms (978 holdings).

Ministers have said that 27 per cent of farms will be affected by the "family farm tax", which would cut the level of inheritance tax relief for farmers.

Yet the Country and Land Association (CLA) says the number affected could be higher – the CLA reckon that 70,000 farms across the UK will be affected, many of which are in Devon.

I believe that the new tax will make farmers' lives tougher, with a risk that many will need to sell machinery, land, or livestock to pay the new taxes, meaning the shrinking of family farms over time to such a size as to make them not viable.

According to Government figures, around 264 farms in the Honiton & Sidmouth constituency are set to be hit with the new tax.

It is very challenging for farmers, many of whom are asset-rich but cash-poor and I have called on the Government to scrap the move.

The Government must urgently think again about this tax.

I am very concerned for the future of our farmers, many of whom are struggling to make ends meet as it is.

This follows the last Government’s disastrous record on botched trade deals, resulting in cuts to farmers’ incomes.

Money is being spent on supporting farmers to adopt sustainable practices, such as reducing pesticide use, planting hedgerows, and managing soil to reduce erosion and pollution - and secure the very future of food production on those farms.

The decline in nature is predicted to result in a 12 per cent loss of UK GDP in the coming years.

Climate change and nature loss are two of the greatest threats posed to the UK’s food security.

To achieve these things, farmers need solid and long-term support from the Government.

I am worried that the tax could inadvertently damage our food security.

The Liberal Democrats propose that farmers should receive an additional £1 billion a year in support to aid the transition.

The Chancellor should urgently reverse course, scrap the family farm tax, and take up these proposals instead.