Panic stations for Labor as poll shows support plummets to post-election low of just 25% amid backlash over agricultural taxes on budget – while 70% of Britons say UK is worse under Starmer

Support for the Labor Party has fallen to a new post-election record due to backlash over plans to tax farmers, according to a new poll released today.

Sir Keir Starmer’s party is now three points behind the Conservatives – and just six points behind the Reformists – down two on 25% after a week of battles over his plan to make farmers pay a low rate of tax on inheritances.

This is a dramatic fall from his post-election peak of 39 percent, which gave him an 11-point lead over the Conservatives.

A second poll shows that almost three-quarters of voters now think the UK has gotten worse under Sir Keir’s leadership.

The More in Common surveys were carried out between November 19 and 21, amid the fallout from Tuesday’s protests in Westminster led by TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed last night said he understood the “angst” caused by his inheritance tax on family farms – but refused to apologise.

Mr Reed told a farmers’ rally that the 20 per cent levy was needed to pay for a “£22 billion black hole” in the public finances left by the previous government.

Farmers say they will be forced to sell their properties to pay their bills.

But the decision to impose the levy on farmers comes as government revenue from inheritance taxes has reached record levels.

HM Revenue and Customs said that in the last seven months the Treasury had collected inheritance tax worth £5bn, £0.5bn more than the same time last year.

Thousands of farmers took part in a rally in London on Tuesday to express their anger at what they say will mean family farms will have to be sold to pay inheritance tax on farms worth more than a million pounds sterling.

Asked at a press conference whether he would apologize for “the frustration and anxiety triggered by elderly farmers”, Mr Reed replied: “It is difficult to apologize for to have made this country’s economy and public services work again.”

Mr Reed told the conference: “I’m not pretending these decisions are easy.”

In a speech, Mr Reed said he was “struck” by the number of people who described the budget problems that brought them to the streets of London on Tuesday as “the straw that broke the camel’s back”.

“These straws have been accumulating for many decades now. These are the frustrations of rural communities across Britain who feel misunderstood, neglected and frankly disrespected.”

“It’s not just about taxes or even agriculture, as important as those things are, it’s about an entire community that demands to be treated with respect.”

And he said: “I heard the campaign anxiety on the streets of London earlier this week.

“We may not agree on changes to inheritance tax, but this government is determined to listen to rural Britain and end its long decline.”