Labour Leader Keir Starmer will tell the National Farmers’ Union Conference later today, that they ‘deserve a government that listens’, as he calls for a new way of governing, backing British farmers on domestic production, international trade and tackling rural crime.
In his second speech to NFU conference as Labour leader, Starmer will call for a government with purpose, after thirteen years of managed decline under the Conservatives.
Calling for a new way of governing, Keir Starmer will say:“You deserve better. You deserve a government that listens, that heeds early warnings, that shows the level of ambition needed to tackle the challenges you face.”
The Labour Leader will also outline his support for homegrown and sustainable produce. He will pledge that with his Labour government, at least half the food the public sector buys will be locally produced or highly sustainable, as the Party commits to backing home-grown food.
By using government procurement, Labour claim their plan will boost UK food security and support for the wider agricultural industry.
Starmer will also outline how Labour’s plan to “buy, make and sell more in Britain” will see more homegrown food on the dinner tables of British families.
As the world continues to navigate international shock through food supply chains, Labour’s plan will ensure growth of Britain’s share of sustainable, locally produced food that is bought and consumed through the public sector.
Outlining the commitment, Keir Starmer will tell the NFU Conference:
“The next Labour Government will commit to this: 50% of all food purchased by the public sector will be food produced locally and sustainably. That is £1.2bn of public money spent on quality food that is genuinely better for peoples’ health”
“A clear target for every year we are in government. And look – 50% is just the minimum. We will do everything to go beyond it. We will buy more cereals, more oilseed rape, more strawberries, more beef and more British apples.”
Starmer’s pledge comes after former Director-General of MI5, Baroness Eliza Manningham-Buller said food supply “is part of our national security”, and is an issue of national importance exacerbated in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, which has seen spiralling input costs and rising prices.
As well as boosting our food security, Labour’s plan will use public procurement power to improve public health. As Henry Dimbleby’s National Food Strategy recommends, we must strengthen “government procurement rules to ensure that taxpayer money is spent on healthy and sustainable food”.
Keir Starmer will also say: “We’re committed to reforming public procurement – using it sensibly and carefully – to build up our sovereign capabilities in key industries.
“It’s a crucial aspect of our industrial strategy, our partnership. And seasonal, sustainable, British-grown food is a key part of it.”
The Labour Leader will also use his speech to commit his Labour government to allocating more police to countryside streets. Coming days after his Party outlined a series of crime-tackling policies, Starmer will show that Labour understands the wider problems faced by the rural communities that feed Britain.
Sadly, these rural communities have been neglected after thirteen years of Conservative rule. From crumbling public services leading to a surge in rural crime, to economic uncertainty, the Tories continue to side-line farmers, whilst Labour champions them.
Outlining the Party’s commitment to providing 13,000 extra neighbourhood police and PSCOs, funded through a Police Efficiency & Collaboration programme, Starmer will highlight the disproportionate impact of crumbling public services on Britain’s rural communities. The Labour Leader will condemn the sad reality that outside of urban areas, people wait longer for emergency services and often stand helpless as criminals target the countryside.
On the decimation of public services in rural areas, Starmer will say:
“If your village has an anti-social behaviour problem, or a fly-tipping problem, or off-road biking, and the only police officers around are in a station or custody suite miles away, filing an arrest, off the streets for hours – that’s a unique problem.
“We’ll get thirteen thousand more police into our towns and villages, more police on countryside streets.
“All of this requires a different approach. One that is designed – from the start – with respect for the challenges of the countryside. ”
On the changed direction of the Party, the Labour Leader will tell the NFU Conference that his Labour government will be one that works alongside communities, not dictating to them from Westminster.
In an indication of the Party’s new approach under his leadership, Starmer will commit to a new relationship with farmers:
“We’re a changed party – from top to bottom. A party that is fit to serve, that is compassionate and competent, that aspires to govern for every corner of our country.
“And that seeks a new relationship with the countryside and farming communities on this basis.”
Addressing the NFU on their theme of ‘Feeding a Changing World’, he will say:
“All around the world, businesses are looking again at the resilience of their supply chains.
“Reacting to the crises we have faced and will face in the future – countries must do the same.
“That’s not protectionist. It’s the reality of delivering national resilience in this new era.”
The Labour Leader will also make clear his understanding of the support and certainty needed by farmers as the agricultural sector changes, due to the UK’s new trading relationships and the impact this has on farming.
On other challenges facing farming communities, such as the economic instability caused by the Conservatives, Starmer will say:
“it’s been obvious for a long time that the Tories have given up on farmers.
“Labour’s approach to trade will be very different – I can promise you that. We want to remove barriers to exporters, not put them up. We want to protect high British standards, not water them down.
“We are going to talk to our friends in the European Union, and