A farmer who claims he earned the equivalent of less than £3 an hour last year says Rachel Reeves’ inheritance tax raid risks “undoing a lifetime” of his father’s work. Jordan Armstrong, 29, expects to face a tax bill of £200,000 on the family farm, which was passed onto his mother after his father died from cancer three years ago, aged 58.

He warns that the “grossly unfair” policy could have a devastating effect on the farm, which has been in his family for generations. The dairy farmer from County Londonderry told the Express: “A tax burden of this magnitude would ruin any prospects for growth or reinvestment during the 10-year period of payback that the Chancellor is proposing. “No prospect for growth. No prospect for farm investment for 10 years. That will mean that our farm, like any other business, will go backwards.

“We pay ourselves considerably less than the minimum wage. We work more hours per week than any other sector. We do it because we love the land. The affordability for most is not there, and in some cases, land would have to be sold to pay the bill. That would be an unthinkable situation for us. 

“My dad worked his entire life to build this farm to where it is today - to sell off a chunk of it just to line the Chancellor's coffers would undo a lifetime of his work.”

Labour is introducing a 20% inheritance tax on farms worth more than £1 million from April next year.

For couples passing on their farms, the threshold is £3 million, including additional reliefs.

No inheritance tax is due on farms transferred more than seven years before death, but many farmers have argued that this rule does not help.

“The suggestion was just ‘transfer everything to your son and that gets round the problem’, provided you survive seven years,” said Jordan’s mother, Roberta, 61, who helps her son on the farm with paperwork.

“There’s issues with that as well. You move from one risk to another risk. The reason why lands are held in older hands is to keep them safe and protect them. So we can’t.

“I’m not quite sure what anybody could do at the moment.”

She added: “It’s a terrible situation. It’s the personal sacrifices that farmers make to see their farm grow and prosper, and for it to be whipped away like that it’s very distressing.  

“I would feel as if I’ve let my husband down. I would feel as if I had failed somehow if we had to undo some of the good work he had done.”

Analysis by the Northern Ireland Rural Valuers Association and Central Association of Agricultural Valuers shows farms in Northern Ireland could be disproportionately affected by the tax change, making up between 40%-85% of the total number across the UK.

William Irvine, president of the Ulster Farmers Union, said land is in shorter supply in Northern Ireland and therefore more valuable.

He believes the vast majority of the more than 12,000 farms he represents are concerned by the tax change.

“The net effect of this over a generation will be devastating for agriculture,” Mr Irvine said.

“Northern Ireland is a very productive corner of the UK. 

“We are supplying about 20% of the UK’s home-produced food which feeds about 10 million people in Great Britain, plus ourselves here, plus down to the Republic of Ireland and over into Europe.”

He warned in the long-term there could be “major” food security concerns in the event of major war or extreme weather.

“Any of those events could put our nation’s food security front and centre and this is threatening, even to a greater extent, our national security.”

Jordan and Roberta's MP Gregory Campbell, from DUP, accused Labour of "an unrelenting attack on UK farming".

He said: "Farmers are not asking for special treatment. They are asking for fairness. They ask for recognition of their role as the backbone of our economy, our rural communities, and our food security.

"Instead, this Government prioritises policies that undermine British agriculture while funding farming abroad.

"In a volatile world, such flagrant disregard for producing food here in the UK is reckless. Food security is vital given the geo-political environment we are living through.

"This cannot continue."

The Government says the changes will only affect the wealthiest 500 estates each year, although this figure has been disputed.

The Daily Express’ Save Britain’s Family Farms campaign has demanded a U-turn on the inheritance tax plans.

A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson said: “The Government’s commitment to farmers remains steadfast.

“Our Agricultural Property Relief reforms mean three quarters of estates will continue to pay no tax at all, while the remaining quarter will pay half what most people would pay, and payments can be spread over 10 years, interest-free. This is a fair and balanced approach which helps fix the public services we all rely on.”