Farmers are revolting against the Govt
EMBARGO: Immediate Release
Ahead of Rishi Sunak attending the NFU conference today, the Liberal Democrats have slammed the Government’s record on everything from the level of food waste caused by staff shortages to the undercutting of farmers in the New Zealand and Australia trade deals. Here are five times the Conservatives failed our farmers.
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On food waste: In the first half of 2022, £60m worth of fruit and veg went to waste just because of workforce shortages.
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On recruitment: The Government’s “Seasonal Worker Visa” scheme allows farms to recruit just 45,000 workers from abroad, when farmers say they need nearly double that - around 70,000 [NFU].
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On pay: All farmers saw their Basic Payments Cut by at least 5% in December 2021 and may see more cuts due to the Government's failed rollout of the new Environmental Land Management scheme not being fully implemented until 2028.
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On DEFRA Budgets: Ministers promised by the end of this parliament to spend £2.4bn a year on agriculture. Defra figures show an underspend of £110m in 2021/22 and £117m in 2022/23, meaning £227m of promised funds have not been spent.
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On Trade Deals: The Government voted against measures to have an impact assessment on the effect the Australia and New Zealand trade deals would have on farmers (Trade Bill Report Stage NC2), they also voted through the Australian and New Zealand trade deals while Lib Dems argued it had insufficient parliamentary oversight (Trade Bill: Third Reading).
It comes as the Liberal Democrats launch an attack ad pitching the party as the clear challenger to the Conservatives for the support of British farmers and rural communities.
The Lib Dems won Parliamentary by-elections in former Conservative rural heartlands Shropshire and Somerset this Parliament and are set to target swathes more as the General Election looms.
Commenting, Liberal Democrat Rural Affairs Spokesperson Tim Farron MP said:
“Farmers are revolting against this woeful Conservative Government.
“From food waste to trade deals, this carousel of Conservative Prime Ministers have overlooked and undercut our British farmers who just deserve a fair deal.
“Rishi Sunak’s last-ditch attempt to woo the farmers he’s taken for granted stinks of desperation. It’s only the Liberal Democrats who have a real plan to support our farmers and rural communities and that starts with a £1bn investment so our farms can thrive.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
The new Lib Dem attack ad is found here.
