Conservatives launch their new plan to tackle tool theft and rural crime

• New action to protect tradespeople, farmers and rural areas from theft and organised crime
• Crackdown on traveller encampments and fly-tipping
• Launch more Rural Crime Taskforces with dedicated rural police officers

Today [Thursday 6^th November 2025] Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch MP addressed a conference of tradespeople, and representatives from the construction and agricultural industries, announcing a comprehensive new plan to tackle the theft of tools, agricultural equipment and other forms of rural crime. The Combined Industries Theft Solutions Conference took place at the JCB World Headquarters.

High volume and high-impact crimes such as tool and farm theft have surged in recent years across rural Britain - disrupting local economies and leaving hard working communities left to pick up the bill.

Under Kemi Badenoch's leadership the Conservative Party is unashamedly on the side of people who build and feed the nation.

The plan sets out a series of measures to strengthen enforcement and deliver tougher penalties. A Conservative government would:

• Support the introduction of more Rural Crime Taskforces around the country. Building on the good work of Conservative PCCs in Thames Valley (Matthew Barber), Sussex (Katy Bourne) and Kent (Matthew Scott) a future Conservative government would offer PCCs and Mayors dedicated rural police officers - coming out of our pledge to deliver 10,000 new police officers. These officers would help to create taskforces who will work with the rural community to tackle organised crime such as farm and equipment theft, poaching, livestock worrying and hare coursing.
• Crackdown on "secondary markets" where stolen goods are sold - particularly car boot sales in which high-grade tools and agricultural equipment is sold.
• Ensure criminals who steal tools and agricultural equipment from tradesman and farmers receive longer sentences and higher penalty fines. Fines will go to compensate the victims for the value of the stolen equipment, with any extra money raised from the fine going to the local police force.
• Prevent and remove illegal traveller encampments by repealing the Human Rights Act, so the police powers against unlawful occupation of property in the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 can be deployed. We will also strengthen the planning system by preventing authorities from granting consent for developments that have already been started without permission.
• Increase the punishment for fly-tipping by adding penalty points to the driving licence of a person convicted of a fly-tipping offence.

This latest plan to restore law and order to Britian comes following our announcements at Conservative Party Conference that we will triple stop and search to get weapons and stolen goods off the streets, and introduce hotspot policing.

Under Kemi Badenoch's leadership, the Conservatives will always fight for hard working people who do the right thing and want to get on.

 Kemi Badenoch, Leader of the Conservative Party, said:

"Every farmer who wakes to find a stolen tractor, every builder who discovers their van stripped bare, every tradesperson left unable to work - they all tell the same story. Hard-working people targeted by criminals who think they can take what others have earned. It's not just theft; it's theft of livelihoods. It's vandalism that destroys pride, time, and trust.

"The Conservative Party will always stand with those who build, fix, and feed our country. The grafters. The doers. The people who keep Britain running. They deserve a government that has their back not one that looks the other way.

"We have the backbone to act where others make excuses. That's why we will increase sentences, increase fines, and launch more Rural Crime Taskforces across the country —so that criminals know this simple truth: in Britain, if you steal from those who work hard, you will pay a heavy price.

"Our country only works if honesty and effort are rewarded and when crime never, ever pays."

Victoria Atkins MP, Shadow Environment Secretary, said:

“The people who build and feed our country deserve to feel safe and supported.

“With rising crime in rural communities and against tradesman, it is ever more important that lawmakers work with them to buck this concerning trend.

“It is clear Labour don't have the backbone to do what is necessary. Only the Conservatives have a serious plan to back our makers and clamp down on this growing problem.”

Matt Vickers MP, Shadow Minister of State for Policing and Crime, said:

“My dad and brother are both builders, so I know only too well the direct impact tool theft has on people's livelihoods.

“It isn't just the cost of replacing the tools, it's disappointed customers and days of lost work.

“This is a practical, tough, common-sense response to a growing problem that backs the builders, the farmers, the plumbers, and electricians who keep Britain running.”

Shoaib Awan, owner of The Gas Expert LTD and long-time campaigner on tool theft said:

“As a victim of tool theft, I speak on behalf of thousands of tradespeople across the UK. There is no greater injustice than watching hardworking individuals lose their livelihoods and their ability to provide for their families because of rising, unchecked theft.

Tool theft is not a petty crime, it devastates mental health, destroys small businesses, and undermines the very infrastructure that keeps this country moving. The consequences reach far beyond the stolen tools themselves-damaged vehicles, unaffordable insurance premiums, delayed projects, and a near-total lack of police support leave tradespeople feeling abandoned by the system meant to protect them.

Meanwhile, unregulated car boot sales and pawn shops have become safe havens for criminals, places where stolen goods are traded freely for cash, with no oversight, no tax, and no accountability. This isn't just theft, it's organized crime, fraud and tax evasion hiding in plain sight.

It's time for the Government to step up, close these loopholes, and take decisive action before more livelihoods are destroyed. We cannot wait for a tragedy to force change. The time to act is now.”

Ian Elliott, Head of Security at The Clancy Group and CITS Chair, said:

"I am gratified to hear Kemi's comments which echo the concerns of both the agricultural and construction industries - which CITS represents. 

“For far too long, Organised Criminal Groups (OCGs) have targeted tradespeople, farmers and large and small businesses alike by stealing the tools and equipment essential for their work, costing the UK economy millions of pounds in losses.

“The disposal of some of these same tools and equipment at car boot sales has been a huge problem and we would welcome further engagement to reduce this issue. 

“Furthermore, additional police officers focusing on rural crime would significantly help the farming and construction sectors and assist in addressing stolen tools and machinery being transported overseas by OCGs”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

Only the Conservatives have a plan to tackle rural crime and back our tradesmen, farmers and rural communities:

• We will rewrite sentencing guidelines that apply to the theft of tools and high value farming equipment, ensuring that these crimes are taken seriously. We will make the theft of tools from tradesmen and the theft of high value farming equipment each a statutory aggravating factor on sentencing and rewrite the sentencing guidelines so these offences attract the toughest sentences. This means crimes against those who work to build and feed our nation will face stiff penalties.

• We will launch a pilot Rural Crime Taskforce to tackle all forms of rural crime with the ultimate goal of significantly reducing crime in our countryside. Building on the excellent work already delivered by Conservative PCCs in Kent, Sussex and Thames Valley, we will establish a new pilot programme that PCCs can opt into. This pilot will make available a dedicated share of officers from 10,000 additional police officers we have committed to recruiting. Each participating police force will set up a specialist rural unit, staffed by trained rural officers who will work closely with farmers, rural businesses and local communities to combat rural crime, including organised crime that affects rural areas, effectively.

• We will toughen penalties and strengthen enforcement against the theft and resale of tradespeople's tools. This will ensure offenders face higher fines that reflect the full cost of replacement, repair, and lost earnings to victims and mean cracking down on the growing number of car boot sales that sell stolen tools and farm equipment, in addition to online platforms.

• We will continue to work closely with users and industry leaders to ensure that the policies we pledge to deliver are both effective and achievable. This means ongoing engagement with manufacturers of high-value farm equipment, rural businesses, and victims of rural crime, so that our approach is informed by real experience. We are committed to ensuring that every measure we introduce is underpinned by a practical, detailed plan that delivers genuine results for rural communities.

• We will repeal the Human Rights Act so that provisions in the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 introduced in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 can be put into effect. These provisions give police the power to evict people residing on land without the owner's permission but the Labour Government is not enforcing these provisions after they have been declared as incompatible with the ECHR, leaving the police unwilling or unable to use the new powers.

• We will strengthen the planning system by preventing planning authorities from granting consent for developments that have been deliberately carried out without permission. This would mean local authorities could not grant retrospective consent for developments that have been intentionally carried out without prior planning permission. 

• We will add penalty points to the driving licence of a person convicted of a fly-tipping offence. We tabled this amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill.

• We will add penalty points to the driving licence of a person convicted of littering from a vehicle. We tabled this amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill.

• We will strengthen police powers to enter private dwellings to seize and destroy off-road bikes being used illegally. We will remove the prohibition on the police entering a private dwelling to confiscate an off-road bike that is driven without a licence, uninsured, or being used illegally and would create a duty to destroy off-road bikes.

Our Conservative record:

• We cut rural crime by 17 per cent between 2023-24, costing £44.1 million. In England, rural crime was cut by 15.6 per cent between 2023 and 2024, whereas it went up by 18 per cent in Labour-led Wales.^[1]

• We cut the cost of rural crime by nearly £9 million from 2023 to 2024. The National Farmers Union Mutual Insurance Society revealed that rural crime cost the UK nearly £9 million less than it did in the year before, down from £52.8 million in 2023, with total claims cost for agricultural vehicle thefts reported to have fallen by 35 per cent and GPS units down by 71 per cent.^[2]

• We empowered the police with the powers they need to stop travellers from illegally occupying land. Our Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 introduced new powers to ‘tackle unauthorised traveller camps'.^[3]

Anoushka Goré | Broadcast Officer

Conservative Campaign Headquarters, 4 Matthew Parker Street, London SW1H 9HQ

Mob: 07470764819

[1] NFU, Rural Crime Report 2025, accessed 16 June 2025, link.

[2] NFU, Rural Crime Report 2025, accessed 16 June 2025, link.

[3] HO, Policy Paper, 20 August 2022, link.