As the UK gears up for the general election, the major political parties have been making their pitch to win over the nation’s farmers. Michael Barker combs through their manifestos to find out what they are promising
Conservatives: Raft of commitments, but will they see the light of day?
The Conservative government has had 14 years to showcase its commitment to British farming, and it’s fair to say it has earned mixed reviews over that time.
In the plus column, current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has demonstrated a refreshing willingness to engage with and listen to the farming community, and a raft of initiatives and announcements have been launched in recent months that have been well received among primary food producers. Cynics, on the other hand, might say it’s too little, too late and that some of the most recent pledges may never see the light of day given the distinct possibility of defeat in July’s election.
Among this year’s announcements, the government finally accepted the industry needs long-term certainty over migrant labour, extending the seasonal worker visa route for five years up until 2029. That sees 2,000 visas available for the poultry sector in 2025, with the numbers for 2026-2029 due to be set out later this year.
At the Farm to Fork Summit in May, the government also revealed it will launch a new £72m Endemics Disease Scheme and a £20m Infrastructure Grant for Laying Hens as part of the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway. Additionally, a Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare Grant will offer grants of between £5,000 and £500,000 to help laying hen and pullet farmers to improve the health, welfare and productivity of their flocks.
The launch of an annual Food Security Index and the appointment of Richard Thompson as a new Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator were further announcements that have gone down well, in addition to Defra’s commitment to regulation in the egg supply chain.
In their manifesto, the Conservatives reserved a whole chapter to farming. It includes a string of commitments including increasing the farming budget by £1 billion over the Parliament, introducing a legally binding target to enhance UK food security, and reforming the planning system to make farm infrastructure easier to build, among other pledges.
Labour: Focus on energy and the environment
All eyes are on Labour, with opinion polls indicating that leader Sir Keir Starmer is on his way into Downing Street. Starmer has laid out what he calls ‘My plan for change’, which includes key commitments to kickstart economic growth, make Britain a clean energy superpower, and deal with issues around policing, education and the NHS.
There is little detail on the party’s plans for food and farming, however. What Labour does say is that it recognises that “food security is national security” and promised to champion British farming while protecting the environment. It will set a target for half of all public sector food procurement to be local or certified to higher environmental standards, and introduce a land-use framework to make environmental land management (ELM) schemes work for farmers and nature.
There’s a big focus on the environment and a plan to address what Labour describes as “the nature crisis”, which will include a crackdown on the pollution of waterways.
There are also a number of initiatives around energy, which include setting up a publicly owned clean power company to cut bills and boost energy security, which could benefit rural businesses. Some £1.8bn will be spent on upgrading ports and building supply chains across the UK, with £500m to support the manufacturing of green hydrogen.
At various appearance at industry events this year, shadow Defra secretary Steve Reed has also promised to slash red tape and costs for farmers around planning permission and exports.
Liberal Democrats: Ban caged hens and raise welfare standards
The Lib Dems say they will “stand up for British farmers and ensure everyone can get affordable, healthy and nutritious food, produced to high welfare and environmental standards”. In a detailed manifesto pledge, the party has promised a range of measures including a new Animal Welfare Bill and an assurance that no animal product that would be illegal to produce in the UK can be sold here – and that includes the headline-grabbing promise to renegotiate the Australia and New Zealand trade agreements in line with the party’s goals for health, environment and animal welfare standards. It even goes as far as saying it would withdraw from the deals if those terms cannot be agreed.
In issues directly relevant to poultry, the party says it would ban caged hens, and at least match the EU’s stricter rules on preventative use of antibiotics. But it added it would introduce a comprehensive plan to tackle antimicrobial resistance in farm animals.
Elsewhere, the Lib Dems say they would introduce a range of other ‘public money for public goods’ programmes, such as nature recovery, planting trees and protecting wildlife, contingent on farmers and land managers opting into an ELM scheme. Backing this, there would be extra funds to ensure an “intelligent transition to better farming practices”.
Other commitments include strengthening the Groceries Code Adjudicator, supporting farmers to reduce the pollution of rivers, streams and lakes, and offering farmers independent advice on how to transition to new environmental farm payment schemes.
Best of the Rest: More focus on the environment, or less?
Among the smaller parties, there are no shortage of strong words in support of farmers, albeit with some highly contrasting policy ideas.
The Greens come in pulling no punches, arguing “our food system is failing us all”. It highlights the impact of poor diets on the NHS, and greenhouse gas emissions and river pollution on the environment.
The party says it would push for financial support for farmers to be almost tripled to support their transition to nature-friendly farming, with a focus on biodiversity and soil health. Farm payments should be linked to reduced use of chemicals, it says, while good quality surplus food must not be wasted. There is also a commitment to educating children on where food comes from, with free school meals and breakfast clubs widely available.
Reform UK, meanwhile, dedicated a page of its manifesto to farming, where it promised to “revitalise Britain’s agriculture to give a much-needed boost to our farmers and guarantee the country’s food security.”
Under the header of ‘Critical reforms needed in the first 100 days’, it pledges to increase the farming budget to £3bn, with a focus on smaller farms and bringing younger people into the industry. Diverging from other parties, it also wants to scrap climate-related farm subsidies and replace them with direct payments, as well as stop Natural England from taking action that “damages farmers”.
Longer term, it wants to grant powers to the Competition & Markets Authority that ensures fair supermarket pricing, help farmers sell directly to the public, target 70% British production and compel taxpayer-funded organisations to source 75% of their food from the UK.
What they said: Industry reaction
Following the publication of the manifestos, the NFU said it welcomed the fact that the Conservatives, Labour and Lib Dems had all recognised the importance of food security, and the commitment by all three to increase public sector sourcing from British farms.
The union said it particularly welcomed both Lib Dem and Conservative commitments to increasing a protected UK agriculture budget by £1bn, Labour’s pledge to promote the highest standards when it comes to food imports, and the Conservative promise to introduce a legally binding target to enhance UK food security. NFU president Tom Bradshaw said he was disappointed, however, that there is no mention of an agriculture budget in the Labour manifesto.
“There are plenty of positives across the three manifestos, and it’s clear that our constructive and open lobbying on many areas has been listened to,” Bradshaw added. “But the single most vital element is the agricultural budget. This isn’t just ‘money for farmers’, it’s the funding which helps the sector transition away from the old EU system, allows farm businesses to invest for the future and makes governments’ aims around sustainable food production, food security, the environment and net zero possible. It’s funding to help underpin the UK’s largest manufacturing sector – food and drink – which contributes more than £128bn to the national economy and provides jobs for four million people.
“Our members will welcome the Lib Dem and Conservative commitments to increase the UK agriculture budget by £1bn and protect it.”