Labour warned not to leave Britain without food in wartime | Politics | News
Labor has sparked anger in rural areas by failing to include agriculture and food production in its list of sectors critical to national security. Farming is not included in the selection of sectors that the Cabinet Office says are “most important to national security: steel, shipbuilding, energy infrastructure and artificial intelligence”. Efforts are underway to support these sectors with the £400 million taxpayers spend on Government contracts each year.
Gareth Wyn Jones, a hill farmer from north Wales, said: “If the country can’t feed itself, it won’t matter how many AI bots we have to play with. When there is conflict abroad, farming is always the first to suffer and we need a Government that protects our livelihoods so we can continue to put food on the nation’s table.”
The Rural Alliance’s David Bean warned that although it is crucial, you cannot “eat” steel.
He said: “The Government continually tells us that it recognizes food safety is national security. When it consulted last year on changes to procurement rules to support businesses, it said: [we] He argued that now is the perfect time to put his words into action. It is deeply disappointing to see that you missed this opportunity. Steel, ships, energy and artificial intelligence are also vital, but we can’t eat them. “That’s the most important thing in difficult times.”
The Labor manifesto included a commitment to “set a target for half of all food purchased across the public sector to be produced locally or certified to higher environmental standards”. But the Rural Alliance warned last year that “only 12% of local authorities and two central Government departments even inspect the origin of the food they supply”.
He described the absence of food and farming from the list of vital sectors as “conspicuous”.
Shadow environment minister Robbie Moore increased the pressure on Labor, saying: “It is clear that the government does not value our farmers, food producers or rural communities. At a time of increasing global uncertainty, our ability to be self-sufficient must be a key pillar of national resilience.”
“Instead, Labor continues to make it much tougher financially for our farmers by dramatically reducing disconnected payments, creating huge uncertainty with the Sustainable Farming Grant, introducing the fertilizer tax, the double cab collection levy and the family farm and business tax, and not supporting British producers where it matters most.”
A Government spokesman said: “We’re investing a record £11.8bn in sustainable agriculture and food production through this parliament, helping British farmers scale technology, increase yields and develop climate-resilient crops. Our new social value targets will benefit British businesses, including food producers, by encouraging bidders to deliver social, economic and environmental benefits across the country.”
