51AVÊÓÆµ

EXCLUSIVE - Victoria Atkins: "It seems that the Government has got it in for the countryside"

Shadow Defra Secretary Victoria Atkins writes on Labour’s broken promises to farmers, how the Conservatives aim to win back rural communities at the next General Election and why the UK faces a food and farming emergency

clock • 5 min read
Shadow Defra Secretary Victoria Atkins said: "The despondency felt in the agricultural sector is because Labour’s policies are making life harder and harder for you: from raising taxes and labour costs to axing the farm payment schemes that form part of your business plans."
Image:

Shadow Defra Secretary Victoria Atkins said: "The despondency felt in the agricultural sector is because Labour’s policies are making life harder and harder for you: from raising taxes and labour costs to axing the farm payment schemes that form part of your business plans."

Britain is entering a Food and Farming Emergency. As food prices continue to climb and business investment dries up, record numbers of farms are closing and record numbers of farmers are leaving the sector...

To continue reading...

Already a member? Login for full access.

New to Farmers Guardian? Register for 1 free article per week or become a member for unlimited access to essential farming news and insights.

article-img-580x358

Ìý

More on Politics

EXCLUSIVE - George Freeman: "The real risk posed by the Government's shotgun licensing proposal is not to public safety, but to our rural way of life"

EXCLUSIVE - George Freeman: "The real risk posed by the Government's shotgun licensing proposal is not to public safety, but to our rural way of life"

Mid Norfolk MP George Freeman writes on why Labour's reforms to shotgun licensing are 'misguided'. Instead, he argues why the shooting industry plays a crucial role in the heartlands of farming communities, the rural economy, to rural conservation, and people's enjoyment of country sports

George Freeman
clock 11 December 2025 • 4 min read
Moving in the right direction on livestock worrying legislation

Moving in the right direction on livestock worrying legislation

This week from Farmers Guardian editor Katie Jones

Katie Jones
clock 11 December 2025 • 2 min read
Dover port officials see same vans 'over and over' bringing in illegal meat

Dover port officials see same vans 'over and over' bringing in illegal meat

Baroness Hayman has said she hoped the SPS agreement with the EU should help tackle the influx of illegal imports as she admitted Dover port facilities were ‘poor’

Alex Black
clock 10 December 2025 • 2 min read