Exclusive:Labour mayor commissions own research on impact of inheritance tax changes on North Yorkshire farmers

He told The Yorkshire Post: “The combined authority is going to lead a piece of work with our regional partners, such as the Country Land and Business Association and the National Farmers’ Union, to really identify what this policy means for York and North Yorkshire.

“Quite rightly there is concern about how, for many years now, farmers have had a tough time, from Brexit, from cheaper imports and the cost of living with energy prices.”

The mayor said the piece of work would cover “not only what it means for the farmers, but what other impacts it could potentially have, and how we could look to mitigate that”.

Measures announced in the Chancellor’s first Budget last month could see farmers pay an effective rate of 20 per cent inheritance tax on assets over £1 million.

Previously, farmers were exempt to allow family farms to be passed down through the generations.

More than 10,000 farmers brought Westminster to a standstill on Tuesday to protest against the changes.

It follows a dispute between the Treasury and agricultural groups, such as the CLA, about how many farmers will be impacted.

Ms Reeves has maintained that the figure will be in the hundreds, however the NFU says new research shows 75 per cent of working farms will be within scope.

Mr Skaith said he was “confident” in the Treasury’s figures and the combined authority’s research was about “scoping out the bigger picture as well and how we can support the farming community going forward”.

Yesterday, Mr Skaith attended a roundtable under the combined authority’s Grow Yorkshire group, which included the NFU, the CLA and the Yorkshire Agricultural Society “to discuss their concerns”.

The mayor has made agriculture, food and farming his top priority for driving growth across the region.

“It was about reassuring them that farming and agriculture and everything around rural life is a top priority for us,” he said.

“I understand their concerns, but I think what we also need to understand is we’ve had 14 years from the previous Conservative government, who have let the country as a whole down.

“We have inherited a really big mess financially. You don’t have to look very far to see the state of frontline services right across our country which impacts our rural communities as much as anywhere.

“The availability of doctor’s appointments, our rural schools falling down, the huge lack of investment particularly into transport in our region.”

Mr Skaith said he did not agree with comments made by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, at PMQs, that organisations like the NFU were “scaremongering” with their figures.

He said: “I’m not going to go down the route of scaremongering, there are obviously concerns.

“Everytime something changes in a budget it’s going to concern people, but I think we need to look at the real brass neck of the Conservatives and Nigel Farage.”