NFU election manifesto timeline
NFU publishes analysis of parties' manifestos
Each party has now set out its manifesto for what it would do if elected as the next government.
Our NFU experts have analysed what each party promises to do for farming.
Read our reaction to the headlines from the Conservatives, Labour and Lib Dems.
To see what all the main parties are offering for farming at a glance, check out our go to guide to this year's general election.
The Conservative Party announces tougher penalties for fly-tippers
The Conservative Party has committed to tougher penalties for fly-tipping offences if it wins the next election, announcing that, if caught fly-tipping, perpetrators will face 3-6 penalty points on their driving licence.
The NFU general election manifesto calls for a consistent and co-ordinated response to tackling rural crime, including ensuring effective punishments to deter criminals from dumping waste illegally.
Fly-tipping has a significant impact on farmers whose businesses and personal lives are affected.
Fly-tipping stops farmers from being able to produce food, damages the environment and takes a huge toll on our members, both emotionally and financially.
Conservative Party announcements at Farm to Fork summit
The annual Farm to Fork Summit, a key NFU general election manifesto win, was used by the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, to make a series of announcements on food and farming, some of which echoed the NFU’s manifesto asks.
These measures included the publishing of the Food Security Index. The Prime Minister also announced that a tenant farming sector commissioner will be appointed in the autumn, as recommended in the Rock Review.
The NFU general election manifesto – Farming for Britain's Future – calls for the recommendations of the Rock Review into agricultural tenancies to be implemented to support the resilience of the tenant sector.
The government announces five-year extension to the Seasonal Worker Scheme
As part of a package of measures in response to the Shropshire Independent Review into Labour Shortages, the government announced a five-year extension to the Seasonal Worker Scheme.
This announcement echoes the NFU general election manifesto ask calling for such an extension. Before this announcement, the Seasonal Worker visa route had been extended until the end of 2024. Alongside the extension, the government announced that the number of visas available to the horticulture sector in 2025 will be set at 43,000, with another 2,000 for poultry.
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, Defra 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 rules out Scottish-style right to roam
In October 2023, the Labour Party announced that it would not implement a Scottish-style right to roam should it 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.
Visit our Farming for Britain's Future: our election manifesto page to get the detail on our asks.
