13:48 Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat)

Farming is a glorious vocation. Farmers work to protect our towns and villages from flooding, to promote biodiversity, to back the tourism economy, to tackle climate change, to underpin landscape heritage and to produce our food. The fundamental failure of both the last Government and this one is that they have brought together agricultural policies that actively disincentivise the production of food. That is criminal, and it is foolish. The first thing the Liberal Democrats would put right is a food strategy and an additional £1 billion a year for ELMs to back our family farmers.

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14:43 Matt Bishop (Labour)

We are using the Government’s purchasing powers to ensure that 50% of food consumed in hospitals, army bases and prisons is from British farmers, putting more money in their pockets. We are introducing grid reform, allowing farmers to plug their renewable energy into the national grid. We are also seeking a new veterinary agreement with the EU to ensure that our friends on the continent can enjoy the incredible produce that Britain has to offer. This Government are actively working to improve the lives of farmers in a way that will benefit the agricultural sector and the broader economy.

My constituents and, more importantly today, farmers in the Forest of Dean have felt the impact of the challenges first hand. Small businesses and families are all facing tough times, and the Opposition must acknowledge the broader context. The new initiatives that the Government are introducing, from the support for British farmers to green energy reforms, are vital steps forward, and I do not underestimate the difficulties that lie ahead for all of us. There is no quick fix for the challenges we face, and I fully recognise the pain and frustration felt by those who are struggling, especially in rural areas such as mine. But the Government’s focus is on long-term growth, sustainability and providing the tools that our farmers need to thrive. It is inaccurate to say, as has been raised, that no farmers agree with this policy; some farmers agree with it. They want better services, and they are happy to accept that reform needs to take place.

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15:22 George Freeman (Conservative)

This is a hugely important strategic industry to the UK. It is key to our food security—now, gratifyingly, a Government priority—and it is completely key to the world’s ability to feed 9 billion mouths. We are a great agricultural research and technology economy, and the world is hungry for our innovations. Agriculture is also completely key to net zero. Agriculture and transport are the two dirtiest industries, and agriculture is moving more quickly than any, pioneering regenerative systems of agriculture and carbon-capturing systems. Those innovations are being driven by a new generation of young UK farmers, who are different from the post-war generation. They take their responsibilities to the broader planet and regenerative agriculture seriously.

At the same time as agriculture being a key strategic industry, farmers look after our countryside and keep our rural economy healthy. All of those are achieved in the most extraordinary way, in an industry not dominated by big companies. This industry is made up of millions of small businesses. Moreover, they exist in the most extraordinary business climate. They operate on incredibly expensive assets—the land—which they never seek to monetise, as colleagues have pointed out, in an industry in which their costs are fixed. They invest in all their costs up front and wait hopefully for a price for their product, which is subject to the vagaries of the weather and of climate change. Most business people looking at that business model would say, “That is not a business I want to be in.” Why do our family farmers do it? They do it because it is a way of life and because it is deeply embedded in the values of their families, their countryside and their communities. It is about stewardship, and it makes it all the more remarkable that this Government have decided to attack that very bit of the agricultural economy.

The former Labour adviser, John McTernan, let the cat out of the bag. He said that Labour has waited a long time to seek revenge for the Tory attacks on the miners, and it was going to attack the farming community now— [ Interruption. ] That is exactly what he said. The impact of the policy is clear; we only have to read the CLA and NFU briefings. I have met Gavin Lane, Phil and Sophie Ellis, Oliver Munday and Nigel Stangroom. Most of our average family farms will have to pay tax bills of £400,000, £500,000 or £600,000. Where will they get the money, when the businesses do not generate the profits to pay those bills? They will all have to sell land, but who will buy it? It will not be their neighbour, because they will be selling land, too. I fear that this policy was designed in the Treasury with the support of bits of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and DEFRA. The people hanging over Mid Norfolk waiting to buy the land are the big solar developers and the big mass housing developers.

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16:27 John Glen (Conservative)

I have had some dealings in the past with the farming Minister, the hon. Member for Cambridge (Daniel Zeichner), and I genuinely have a great deal of respect for him—I do not want to embarrass him by saying anything more. He has a large number of issues to deal with, and I think all of us in this House want to see some clarity around the land use framework, and how we reconcile the question of where we build more homes with the challenges of renewable energy. However, we have to keep in focus the core function of our farmers, which is to produce food. I recognise the point made in an intervention earlier, and I am not suggesting that the Government are going to say, “We are going to have solar farms everywhere,” but we do need to have a coherent farming policy as a whole and a land use strategy that people understand.

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