Steve Reed comments on the Prime Minister’s farming announcement at Farm to Fork summit

Steve Reed MP, Labour's Shadow Environment Secretary, commenting on the Prime Minister's farming announcement, said:

“After 14 years of Tory failure, our farmers are at breaking point. 

“The Conservative Government has stood idly by as farmers – including our great fruit and veg growers - have been devastated by flooding, skyrocketing energy prices and undermined by dodgy Tory trade deals. As a result, thousands are being forced out of business. 

“Labour will introduce a New Deal for Farmers to put money into their pockets and boost Britain's food security. We will cut farmers' energy bills, slash red tape at the borders to get our food exports moving again, and use the Government's own purchasing power to back British produce.”

Ends.

Notes:

• NFU survey reveals that confidence of English farmers has hit an all-time low https://www.nfuonline.com/media-centre/releases/press-release-nfu-survey-shows-collapse-in-farmer-confidence/

• Over 6,325 agriculture businesses have collapsed since 2017 https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/datasets/businessdemographyreferencetable

Labour's New Deal for Farmers to turbocharge rural growth and boost Britain's food security

• 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.
• Use the government's purchasing power to back British produce: by setting a target for 50% of food in our hospitals, army bases and prisons to be locally produced or certified to higher environmental standards.
• 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 putting money into the pockets of farmers.
• Make ELMs work: Labour will cut through the Tory bureaucracy and red tape that has blocked farmers from receiving hundreds of millions of pounds funding.
• Introduce a land-use framework to ensure the correct balance between food and nature restoration.
• Establish a Flood Resilience Taskforce: to speed up the building of drainage systems, flood defences and natural flood management schemes to protect farms from the destruction caused by flooding.
• Introduce the first-ever cross government Rural Crime Strategy: including increasing police patrols in rural areas as part of Labour's plans for 13,000 more police and PCSOs, tough measures to crack down on antisocial behaviour and agricultural crime such as GPS theft.