General Election - what's on offer for farming?

Picture of a dog at a polling station

Each party has now set out its manifesto for what it would do if elected as the next government. But what have parties promised to do for farming?

Our Political Adviser, Huw Thomas has analysed each party’s most prominent pledges. Use the links below to jump to which party you want to read more about.

You can also jump down the page to view our in-depth commentary on each pledge (members only) to read our analysis of each commitment. 


Conservatives

The Conservative Party’s manifesto makes the following commitments:

  • Funding for agriculture: Increase the UK-wide farming budget by £1 billion over the Parliament, ensuring it rises by inflation in every year. Introduce a new UK-wide £20 million Farming Innovation Fund.
  • Food security: Introduce a legally binding target to enhance our food security. Build on the new UK-wide food security index by putting a UK-wide food security target into law.
  • Procurement: Spend at least 50% of food expenditure on food produced locally or to higher environmental production standards.
  • Labour: Support the agricultural sector with the labour it needs to maintain food security, while moving away from the reliance on seasonal migrant labour with a five-year visa tapered scheme, alongside clear investment in automation and promoting agri-food careers and skills. 
  • International trade: Always stand up for farmers when negotiating new trade deals. At the farm to fork summit Conservatives set out their commitments to ensure UK farming is at the heart of UK trade and will always look for the right deal for farmers.
  • Other: Extend the UK Shared Prosperity Fund for another three years, delivering a further £540 million a year for communities across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. 

Read the Conservative Party manifesto.

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Labour

The Labour Party’s manifesto makes the following commitments:

  • Food security: Recognise that food security is national security. They will champion British farming whilst protecting the environment. 
  • Procurement: Set a target for half of all food purchased across the public sector to be locally produced or certified to higher environmental standards.
  • Labour: Reform the points-based immigration system so that it is fair and properly managed, with appropriate restrictions on visas, and by linking immigration and skills policy.
  • International trade: Improve guidance and remove barriers to exporting for small businesses. Work to improve the UK’s trade and investment relationship with the EU, by tearing down unnecessary barriers to trade. Seek to negotiate a veterinary agreement to prevent unnecessary border checks and help tackle the cost of food.
  • Animal health and welfare: Work with farmers and scientists on measures to eradicate Bovine TB, protecting livelihoods, so that they can end the 'ineffective badger cull'. 
  • Other: Strengthen the relationship between the governments in Westminster and Cardiff Bay. The two governments will work collaboratively to deliver Labour’s national missions. Labour recognises that the Welsh Fiscal Framework is out of date. Committed to working in partnership with the Welsh Government to ensure the framework delivers value for money with two Labour governments committed to fiscal responsibility.

Read the Labour Party manifesto.

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Plaid Cymru

The Plaid Cymru manifesto makes the following commitments:

  • Funding for agriculture: Wales should be funded according to its needs. Want to see a new needs-based funding formula introduced in place of the Barnett Formula
  • Procurement: Ensure that food labelling accurately reflects country of origin, allowing consumers to choose food that is ‘Welsh’ and not just ‘British’ so that they can make an informed choice. Continue to promote opportunities to develop local processing capacity.
  • Supply chain fairness: Introduce policies to improve transparency within the supply chain and strengthen the powers of the Groceries Adjudicator.
  • International trade: Believe that Wales would be best served by re-joining the European Union at an appropriate point in time. UK should join the European Single Market and Customs Union as soon as practical. Making it a clear objective of trade ministers to boost trade by small British businesses. Give Wales a veto over future trade deals that undermine Welsh agricultural communities.
  • Animal health and welfare: Introduce a broader approach to tackling bovine TB which includes controlling the disease in wildlife.
  • Other: Continue to take the argument for independence to every corner of Wales. Work to create a specialist all-Wales rural crime team, seeking to recruit officers from the farming community, building upon the work already done by Police and Crime Commissioners in the North Wales and Dyfed-Powys police force areas.

Read Plaid Cymru's manifesto.

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Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats' manifesto makes the following commitments:

  • Funding for agriculture: Accelerate the rollout of the new Environmental Land Management schemes, properly funding it with an extra £1 billion a year to support profitable, sustainable and nature- friendly farming. Ensure reliable funding for the nations of the UK. Retaining the Barnett formula, ensuring the floor is set at a level that reflects the need for Wales to be funded fairly.
  • Food security: Introduce a holistic and comprehensive National Food Strategy to ensure food security, tackle rising food prices, end food poverty and improve health and nutrition.
  • Procurement: Using public procurement policy to support the consumption of food produced to high standards of environmental and social sustainability, and which is nutritious, healthy and locally and seasonally sourced.
  • Labour: Fix work visa system.
  • Supply chain fairness: Hold (large) businesses to account for their responsibility to the environment. Introduce robust and clear-to-understand food labelling. Strengthen the Groceries Code Adjudicator to protect consumers from unfair price rises and support producers.
  • International trade: Give Parliament real power in setting UK trade policy. Make it a clear objective of trade ministers to boost trade by small British businesses. Maintain high health, environmental and animal welfare standards in food production and guarantee that all future trade deals will meet them too.
  • Animal health and welfare: Pass a comprehensive new Animal Welfare Bill to ensure the highest standards possible.
  • Other: Remove the ability for the UK Parliament to unilaterally change the powers of the devolved parliaments or pass laws in their areas of responsibility. Complete the next stage of devolution in Wales by implementing the remaining Silk proposals, substantially reducing the number of powers reserved to Westminster, and increasing borrowing powers. Create a distinct legal jurisdiction for Wales to reflect the growing divergence in law as a result of devolution.

Read the Liberal Democrats' manifesto.

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Reform UK

Reform UK’s ‘contract’ makes the following commitments:

  • Funding for agriculture: Increase the Farming Budget to £3 Billion. Focus on smaller farms. Keep farmland in use. Bring young people into farming. Boost rural economy and culture.
  • Food security: Boost smaller food processors and abattoirs through tax breaks and other incentives.
  • Procurement: Target 70% to ensure food security. Taxpayer funded organisations should source 75% of their food from the UK. Clear labelling for consumer choice.
  • Supply chain fairness: Stop Supermarket Price Fixing. Grant powers to the Competitions and Markets Authority to ensure fair pricing. Help farmers sell their produce directly to the public.
  • International trade: Abandon the Windsor Framework. Prepare for renegotiations on the EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
  • Other: Legislate to scrap EU regulations with immediate effect.

Read Reform UK's 'contract'.

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Green

The Green Party’s manifesto makes the following commitments:

  • Funding for agriculture: Financial support for farmers to be almost tripled to support their transition to nature-friendly farming.
  • Food security: Aim to increase the amount of food grown and traded in the UK, and as locally as possible.
  • Procurement: Reform procurement rules to give small and medium sized enterprises greater access to government contracts.
  • International trade: Re-join the EU as soon as the political conditions are right. 
  • Animal health and welfare: The creation a new Commission on Animal Protection. An end to badger culling. An end to factory farming, enforcement of maximum stocking densities, and no routine use of antibiotics in farm animals.

Read the Green Party's manifesto.

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NFU Cymru analysis

NFU Cymru has provided further analysis of each party's manifesto. Members can view the analysis below.

Read NFU Cymru's manifesto


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