'Budget of broken promises has betrayed rural Lincolnshire', claims MP Atkins

She has also reiterated her criticism of the decision to means-test the winter fuel payment, labelling it "a cruel cut” for many pensioners.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s Budget laid out changes to Agricultural Property Relief (APR), which will have an impact on farm estates, including small and medium-sized enterprises, across Lincolnshire.

Significantly, the changes remove a protection against inheritance tax for agricultural land and properties. And they come in addition to an increase in National Insurance contributions by employers, which will also affect farms that already operate on small margins.

The MP slammed the measures, saying they have “failed rural areas of the country” and accusing the government of “broken promises”.

She said: "When I and other Conservatives warned Labour would change APR, they responded by saying this was desperate nonsense.

"Yet that is exactly what they have done with this Budget containing eye-watering taxes of £40 billion.

"The appalling changes to APR will stop farms being passed to the next generation, threatening our food security, risking jobs and impacting food prices.”

The Conservative Party has launched a Stop The Family Farm Tax campaign, and Mrs Atkins urges supporters to sign an online petition at http://stopthefarmtax.com/

Mrs Atkins’s view has been backed up by the National Farmers’ Union, which fears the cost of producing food will now rise, meaning consumers could bear the brunt.

Rhonda Thompson, county adviser for the union in Lincolnshire, said: “The removal of APR tax reliefs will come as a blow to many.

"Tenant farmers face uncertainty for their future because many landlords might make plans to take back their land to meet the tax demands. Land sales could mean many farm businesses will no longer be viable.

"This is a worrying prospect for the UK’s ability to continue to produce quality home-grown food.”

Meanwhile, Mrs Atkins accused the government of “punishing pensioners” with its winter fuel payment policy and urged it to think again.

She is among a total of 253,564 people to have signed a petition against the means-testing legislation, which will take away payments of £200 to £300 to help with energy bills.

She estimates that 26,570 pensioners in the Louth and Horncastle constituency will have their payments withdrawn.