Day two at this year’s NFU Conference was a rare chance to hear the UK’s main political parties’ priorities for agriculture and food production ahead of the general election, set to take place on 7 May. John Humphreys, legendary host of the BBC’s Today programme and session chair, opened questioning by asking what each party’s three main priorities are for the sector, should they secure an election win.
Conservatives: GeorgeEustice, Defra minister
Current Defra minister Eustice said the Tories’ first priority would be to clamp down on the number of farm inspections, and minimise stress caused by meeting EU regulations. Secondly, he said the party would seek to open more export markets, building on Liz Truss’ focus on exports this year, and finally he said the party would make the decisions necessary to prevent animal and plant disease, such as the badger cull and bovine TB.
Liberal democrats: DanRogerson, Defra minister
Eustice’s Defra colleague Rogerson said Nick Clegg’s party wants to see an “overarching food plan” put in place to cover food security and climate change. Extending the powers of the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) down the supply chain is next on the list, followed by a more robust labelling scheme that would list a genuine country of origin, rather than the country of processing.
Labour: Huw Irranca-Davies, shadow Defra minister
Shadow environment minister Irranca-Davies said Labour would prioritise a “master plan” that would cover food security, productivity, sustainability and social justice to cover supplier relations. Next up, he said the party wants a science-led policy on GM and technology, in the UK and at EU level, and thirdly, Labour will “fight to stay within the EU”.
Green Party: spokesperson
Although not represented at the NFU Conference, a spokesperson for the Green Party told FPJ that they would provide financial incentives for environmentally-beneficial practices in farming, balanced by taxation of environmentally detrimental practices. Secondly, the Greens would set higher minimum environmental standards and “ban harmful practices”. The party’s third priority is to promote sustainable food production through better education via the school curriculum, better food labelling, public health campaigns and government websites.
UKIP: Stuart Agnew, MEP
UKIP’s spokesperson for agriculture said the party’s top priority would be to take Britain out of the EU. The party would then use the EU membership fees to establish a financial support system for farmers that is similar to CAP. Secondly, he said UKIP would seek to set up a “proper trading relationship” with Europe, and finally the party favours deregulation so farmers have the freedom to use what tools they need with less red tape.
Scottish National Party: spokesperson
Removing barriers that discourage new entrants into farming is the top priority for the Scottish National Party (SNP), a spokesperson said, followed closely by pushing for a greater share of the CAP budget for Scottish farmers. The SNP will also continue to warn against the proposed ‘in-out’ referendum on the EU, which is described as “the biggest threat facing Scottish farming today”. The third priority is to promote Scottish products among national and international consumers through retailers, ports, airports and stations.
Plaid Cymru: Elfyn Llwyd
Llwyd said the party’s priorities would be to toughen up the powers of the GCA, target more rural development funding more effectively, and revise fiscal incentives for new entrants to farming.
Europe:
How would agriculture fare if the UK left the EU?
A hot topic during the debate was what would happen to the agricultural sector should the UK vote to leave the EU. Although Humphreys had his work cut out to prise an answer from the panel, the consensus from all main parties was to fight for a better deal within Europe, while UKIP’s main policy favours an exit. When pressed on what financial security UKIP would give to farmers without CAP payments, Agnew said the party would use EU membership fees to set up a similar system. Meanwhile, Eustice eventually conceded that there are successful agricultural systems in countries that aren’t in the EU, and that the Tories would put in a replacement policy – although he stressed this situation was strictly hypothetical. Irranca-Davies said more decisions should be taken at a national level, but added: “I dread to think what would happen to farming and food if we left the EU.”
Sustainability:
How green are the major parties?
Notably absent from the three priorities of most parties, Humphreys zoned in on this aspect to ask: “Would any of you describe yourself as green, not in the pejorative sense?” On receiving no satisfactory reply, he went on: “Would you be happy to go to your constituents and say we are prepared to support pesticide use, and more of it?” Irranca-Davies responded: “I am not prepared to do that, but then I don’t think anyone in this room would say they’d like to use more pesticides, they are very expensive to use.” Agnew highlighted the disparity between the desire to cut pesticide use at the same time as increasing agriculture’s productivity, while Eustice added: “It’s about having a broad range rather than more volumes of pesticides.”
GM food:
Which parties are in favour of GM?
All three of the major parties outlined their support for GM, and a science-led policy on GM, in the future of agriculture. Eustice said that, providing there is no risk to the environment, the UK “should be growing GM crops”. Rogerson said the Lib Dems are “comfortable” with the evidence-based approach to GM, which he said has led to member states now having the power to ban or approve a GM product, following a wider approval at EU level. But he added: “The public has to be won round. It’s not simple or easy, but we have the evidence base to help us do that. More control at a national level is what we need.” But Llwyd stated that Plaid Cymru is not in favour of GM. “We are not happy with the GMO scene at the moment. There is a huge amount of distrust out there, and the public is not necessarily going to believe the scientific evidence,” he warned.
Labour:
Who will pledge to ensure a sustainable source of seasonal labour?
Responding to a question by FPJ in the press conference, Eustice said that the industry has not had any trouble recruiting labour this year, despite the abolishment of the Seasonal Agricultural Workers’ Scheme (SAWS).
“There is no need for a formal scheme at the moment. You have to recognise that when the SAWS scheme was set up there were only 12 countries within the EU, whereas now there are a lot more,' he said. 'We now have free movement of people regardless of an official scheme, so people have more options.”
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