Britain’s farmers and growers produce high quality, climate-friendly food, fuel, fibre and flowers while maintaining and enhancing our beautiful countryside, protecting some of our most valuable natural assets and providing the foundation for the country’s largest manufacturing sector, food and drink.
We need politicians to work with us so we can fulfil our potential and continue to farm for Britain’s future.
Read Farming for Britain's Future – The NFU 2024 General Election Manifesto
Below you can take a look in more detail at some of our key asks and find out why they are needed and what they can deliver for the country.
Our work in Westminster
We work with our members to get their issues in front of MPs. This work changes the farming landscape for the better.
NFU Election manifesto timeline
The Labour Party’s Rural Crime Announcements
In a farm visit alongside NFU representatives and members, the leader of the Labour Party, Sir Keir Starmer MP, and the Shadow Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper MP, announced a series of proposals to tackle rural crime, echoing several areas in the NFU manifesto.
Labour’s proposals included a pledge to ensure cross-government coordination between the Home Office, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, as well as collaboration with the National Crime Agency to tackle organised crime groups. Furthermore, Labour promised to amend the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act to cover GPS theft from farm vehicles.
The Liberal Democrats’ Rural Crime Strategy
The Liberal Democrats published a strategy to tackle rural crime that included a commitment to ensuring that every police force has a well-resourced, dedicated rural crime team. Their announcement referred to the work done by the NFU and NFU Mutual to highlight the extent and significant impacts of rural crime on NFU members and wider communities.
The Liberal Democrat’s pledge echoes one of the NFU’s general election manifesto asks, for a more consistent and coordinated approach to tackling rural crime, which involves rural crime teams for every police force.
Reform UK’s Agricultural Policies
Reform UK’s draft manifesto entitled ‘Our Contract’ stated that they would increase the farming budget to £3 billion.
In our general election manifesto, the NFU called for parties to increase the annual agriculture budget to £4 billion to help secure stability and productivity within the farming sector. Reform UK also committed to 75% of food procured by the public sector to be British-sourced. The NFU general election manifesto puts the procurement target at 50%.
The Prime Minister’s Announcements at NFU Conference 2024
At NFU Conference 2024, the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP, unveiled a series of funding announcements which included a commitment to spend ‘every penny’ of the £2.4 billion farming budget going to agriculture. This government doubled investment in farming productivity schemes, which they say will help farmers invest in automation.
The PM also announced a new annual UK-wide Food Security Index, which will assist in tracking the UK’s food production levels. This came alongside the announcement of an annual Farm to Fork Summit. These were both policy asks in the NFU general election manifesto.
Cross-party Support for the Livestock Worrying Bill
The Rt Hon Dr Thérèse Coffey MP’s Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Bill seeks greater police powers to respond to livestock worrying incidents which have devastating economic and psychological effects on NFU members.
Following campaigning by the NFU, the Private Members Bill has received backing from the Government.
The Labour Party has also been supporting the Bill as it moves through Parliament.
The Labour Party’s Public Procurement Target
During the NFU’s fringe event at the Labour Party Conference in 2023, the Shadow Defra Secretary, Steve Reed MP, committed the Party to sourcing 50% of government-procured food from British producers should they form the next Government.
The NFU has long campaigned for this commitment to increase the market share of the British farming sector.
The Labour Party Abandons Scottish-style Right to Roam
In October 2023, the Labour Party announced that it would not implement a Scottish-style right to roam should they form the next Government. This followed strong campaigning from the NFU, highlighting the significant environmental, economic and safety risks of such a policy.
The NFU general election manifesto calls for all political parties to ensure responsible management of public access to the countryside, which is often an active working environment.
The Labour Party’s Flood Resilience Taskforce
The NFU general election manifesto has called for improved mitigation of flood risk and the implementation of a comprehensive water management strategy.
In October, the Labour Party announced that a Flood Resilience Taskforce would be formed should they win the next election.
Labour has said that this COBRA-style taskforce would meet every winter, ahead of the peak season for flooding, to coordinate flooding preparation and resilience between the Government, local authorities, and local communities.
The Liberal Democrats’ Extra £1 Billion for Farming
At the Liberal Democrat Party Conference, the party announced they would increase the annual farming budget by an extra £1 billion a year. During the NFU’s fringe event, the Liberal Democrat Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson, Tim Farron MP, stated that the investment would go towards infrastructure investment, and incentivising signing up to environmental schemes.
The NFU general election manifesto calls for the annual agricultural budget to be increased to £4 billion to support the delivery of a balanced agricultural policy which underpins food security as well as environmental goals.