With Britain no longer tied to the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the upcoming general election will be the first time in over 40 years that parties have a genuine opportunity to shape the future of the country’s fruit and vegetable industry.
The freedom to introduce new policies on trade, crop protection and environmental regulations, among other important issues, has left some in the industry hopeful of change. But major concerns abound, with access to migrant labour and the continuation of tariff-free trade with the EU emerging as perhaps the most pressing issues since last June’s referendum.
FPJ contacted each of the main parties to find out their policies on fruit and vegetable production and trade ahead of the vote on 8 June. Here’s what they said:
Conservatives
The Conservatives did not respond to FPJ when quizzed on their food and farming policies – and there is scant detail to be gleaned from their manifesto document either. The party writes that it is “determined to grow more, sell more and export more great British food”, but it offers little indication of how this might be achieved.
This reflects what food policy expert Tim Lang calls a “stunning silence” from Defra secretary Andrea Leadsom, who has frustrated farmers with her lack of policy detail – particularly on the crucial issues of seasonal labour and farming subsidies.
In April Leadsom said there was “no evidence” that a pilot seasonal workers scheme was needed after visiting fruit farms to hear about their labour challenges. And at the Oxford Farming Conference in January, her ministerial colleague George Eustice offered little assurance that farming subsidies would be continued in the medium to long term. It should be noted, however, that the Converstaives have since pledged in their manifesto to continue payments at current EU levels until 2022 – a two-year extension on a previous commitment by the party.
Despite the farming community’s recent misgivings about the government, 70 per cent of delegates polled at FPJ Live said the Conservatives were the party with the most to offer the fresh produce industry. And one policy area that Leadsom has been pushing is her desire to find new markets for fresh produce exports when Britain leaves the EU.
Labour
It is no secret that there has been considerable upheaval in Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet, and the position of shadow Defra secretary has been no exception. Two ministers have resigned from the post since this time last year.
Sue Hayman, a former shadow Defra minister, now leads the department, and although she is an unknown quantity, she is proposing some encouraging agricultural policies. Labour says it will allow EU workers currently employed across farming, fishing and food manufacturing to remain in the UK, while also reinstating the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme, which was scrapped by the Tories in 2013.
The party’s priority, it says, will be to “champion sustainable food and farming by investing in and promoting skills, technology, market access and innovation”. It has also pledged to end uncertainty for farmers and food producers by securing continued EU market access, and when it comes to subsidies the party says it will reconfigure funds for farming to “support smaller traders, local economies, community benefits and sustainable practices.”
While these policies also lack detail, they show some commitment to supporting British producers. However, not all companies will support Labour’s proposed ban on controversial neonicotinoid pesticides, which many scientists suggest reduce bee populations.
On the wider issue of environmental protection, Labour believes in defending and extending existing EU regulations. “These protections can help to guarantee a long-term future for our farming and food industries,” a Labour spokesperson says.
Liberal Democrats
Having campaigned harder than either of the two main parties to stay in the EU, the Liberal Democrats are showing no sign of backing down on their insistence that British ties to Europe be maintained. Staying in the Single Market is the party’s top priority in food and farming – to ensure tariff-free trade with the EU and guarantee easy access to labour.
The party has no plans to reinstate SAWS, pushing instead to protect the existing freedom of movement within the Single Market. When it comes to subsidies, the party has pledged to continue payments to ensure British farming stays competitive. “The total envelope will remain largely the same,” a spokesperson says, but payments will be dependent on the delivery of “public goods” – such as food production, flood protection, countryside maintenance and climate change prevention – rather than farm size.
Other proposed changes include the introduction of a National Food Strategy “to promote the production and consumption of healthy, sustainable and affordable food” and extending the remit of the Groceries Code Adjudicator to include businesses further up the supply chain and help ensure farmers receive a fair price for their produce.
SNP
Now a major force in British politics, the Scottish National Party will be hoping to replicate their success in the 2015 general election, when they won an impressive 56 seats.
Nicola Sturgeon’s party sees the EU as being of vital importance to Scotland’s food industry and says it will “fight to maintain Single Market membership”. With up to 15,000 seasonal migrant labourers harvesting soft fruit and vegetables in Scotland every year, the SNP says it will continue to call for EU nationals’ right to remain and work in the UK.
The SNP’s rural affairs spokesperson Calum Kerr has also taken the fight to the Tories by accusing them of “robbing” Scottish farmers of £190 million of EU money. The SNP claims that this money only came to the UK because of Scotland’s low average farm payments and in the SNP manifesto Kerr says he will “continue to fight for this funding to be passed on to Scotland’s farmers.”
Greens
A fair return for farmers is at the forefront of the Greens’ policy commitments, with the party pushing for “an equitable distribution of the gross receipts to all parts of the food chain” and an understanding of the “realistic” cost of producing quality fruit and vegetables.
Recognising that the party won’t win power on 8 June, agricultural spokesman Oliver Dowding says the Greens will rely on campaigning and lobbying to ensure the fresh produce industry retains access to seasonal and non-seasonal workers. There is support for a scheme “such as SAWS” with a process that is simple, fast-tracked and available to all.
When it comes to the environment, the party aims to increase protections “where practical and realistic” when Britain leaves the EU. Dowding insists this can be done in a way that is not counter-productive to food production. Unsurprisingly, the party is opposed to GM and crop protection products such as glyphosate and neonicotinoids, but it says it is not against all forms of crop protection.
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