The NFU has republished a series of videos of Sir Keir Starmer’s speech at our 2023 Annual Conference to remind the Prime Minister of his commitments to British farming ahead of the Autumn Budget on 30 October.
The videos have been published on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok, and have been viewed more than 100,000 times in one week.
This follows repeated NFU calls for a multi-annual budget of £5.6 billion, as outlined in our letter to the Chancellor, and more than 2,000 members using our campaigning email tool to contact their MP.
NFU President Tom Bradshaw has also written a letter to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, calling on him to stand by his commitments to British farmers and growers.
1. ‘A genuine partnership’
Sir Keir Starmer said that his government would be one that “aspires to govern for every corner of our country [...] that seeks a new relationship with the countryside and farming communities on that basis”.
“That has to be a relationship based on respect, on genuine partnership,” he added.
2. ‘We can’t have farmers struggling’
Recently released figures unveiled a £358 million underspend of the agriculture budget for the past three years. The NFU has called this out as “unacceptable” and urged the government to roll over any underspend into future years, reminding Food Security and Rural Affairs Minister Daniel Zeichner that this was his stance when in Opposition.
During the NFU’s Conference, Sir Keir Starmer also said: “We can’t have underspends in the allocated money. We can’t have farmers struggling while they wait for the right SFI standards to be announced. We can’t have everyone burnt out by the bureaucracy and constantly moving goalposts.
“It’s too important, especially now in this trading environment.”
3. ‘A government that listens’
The NFU is committed to working in partnership with Sir Keir Starmer's mission-led government to rebuild confidence in the agriculture industry. We will hold the government to account on their promise to listen to farmers.
Sir Keir Starmer said: “You deserve a government that listens, that heeds early warnings, that shows the level of ambition needed to tackle the challenges that you face.”
4. ‘Stability and certainty’
You can have both, was the message from the Prime Minister: “Certainty and change, stability and success, environmental stewardship and sustainable food production, you can have both.”
