Overview

• Senior coroner Tanyka Rawden recorded a conclusion of suicide on May 29, citing Charlesworth’s stress over impending inheritance tax changes.
• Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s Budget introduced a 20% levy on agricultural estates worth over £1 million starting in 2026, triggering protests across the farming community.
• Charlesworth, 78, had handed day-to-day management to his son while caring for his wife’s severe dementia and cancer on their 70-acre Silkstone farm.
• He left a note with guidance on reducing the farm’s inheritance tax bill to protect it for future generations.
• The Charlesworth family has urged the government to rethink the policy to prevent similar tragedies among farmers.