Labour slams the Tory destruction of our rural economy as the
latest figures show thousands of agriculture businesses have
collapsed under their watch.
Over 6,300 agricultural-related businesses in the UK have been
terminated since 2017, according to new analysis by the party.
This includes nearly 5,000 meat, fruit, vegetable, and dairy
producers.
The fall in agriculture businesses has left the number of people
employed in agriculture to collapse by a third over the same time
period.
The analysis is a horrifying reminder of the impact of 13 years
of Conservative rule that have left farmers stranded. Since 2019,
farmers have faced more red tape and higher costs at our borders,
blocking the export of high-quality British produce. The failure
to invest in home-grown energy has left farmers crippled by
skyrocketing energy prices, with the price of animal feed and
fertiliser jumping by as much as 133% over the last year.
These figures come as Labour pledge to deliver a “new deal for
farmers”.
-
Seek a veterinary agreement with the European
Union: to cut red tape and costs at our borders and
get our great British food exports moving again.
-
Ensure at least half of all food in hospitals, schools
and prisons is British: use the government’s own
purchasing power to back British produce with local or
sustainably produced food.
-
Turn on GB Energy: a new publicly owned energy
company that will harness clean home-grown British power to
deliver cheaper bills for farmers.
-
Rewire Britain: allowing farmers to rapidly
plug their renewable energy into the grid.
-
Flood Resilience Taskforce: reduce the flood
risk of our farms through a Cobra-style taskforce for
delivering drainage systems, flood defences and natural flood
management schemes.
Recent Labour Party analysis has found that our food security has
weakened after 13 years of failure. According to the latest
statistics, our food imports have skyrocketed by 21% from 2010 to
2022 leaving consumers exposed to shocks and British farmers with
food rotting in their fields.
This comes as consumers have faced skyrocketing food prices this
year with a recent high of 19.2% in March, with nearer three
quarters of a million people using foodbanks.
, Labour’s Shadow Secretary
for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said:
“This Conservative government has wrecked our farmers.
“It is time we turned the page and embraced a decade of national
renewal with the countryside at its heart.
“Labour will give British farmers their future back. We will
deliver lower energy bills for farmers by switching on GB Energy,
lower red tape at our borders to get our great food exports
flowing again and use the government’s own purchasing power to
back British produce.”
Ends
Notes
Q1 2017 – 381,000
Q2 2022 – 268,000
Manufacture of food products (inc meat, fruit, diary,
vegetables): 4,875
Wholesale trade of agriculture raw materials and live animals:
1,060
Manufacture of agricultural and forestry machinery: 345
Manufacture of pesticides and other agrochemical products: 45
