Angry farmers warn Rishi Sunak they will desert Tories at election if rural voters ignored

Voters will punish Rishi Sunak at the next general election if the Tories do not deliver for rural Britain, the Prime Minister has been warned.

People living in the countryside have been “ignored for too long” and all political parties must place rural issues at the heart of the upcoming election, campaigners and MPs claim.

The Budget did not go far enough to produce a credible offer for the rural community, they claim.

Their plea comes as opinion pollsters say Tory support in the countryside is collapsing.

Greg Smith, Conservative MP for Buckingham, told the Daily Express: “It is vital we have a big offer for all rural people, from supporting farmers to ensuring communications ­infrastructure like mobile and broadband works and healthcare provision is easily accessible.

“Rural Britain is the heart of Britain and we must re-earn the trust that only Conservatives truly understand and care for our countryside.”

The Government said it is committed to supporting profitable farming businesses, improving food security and protecting agriculture.

At the NFU conference in Birmingham, the PM and the Environment Secretary announced measures to boost productivity and resilience, including a record-high grant offer for farmers, expected to total £427million.

But NFU president Tom Bradshaw has warned Chancellor Jeremy Hunt failed to deliver for farmers in the Budget this week.

He said: “Where some of the headline announcements, such as an extension to agricultural property relief and a reduction of National Insurance for the self-employed, could offer some benefits to agricultural businesses, the Chancellor has missed an opportunity to deliver resilience for food producers.”

The Liberal Democrats are hoping to win traditionally true-blue seats and repeat their success at the Somerton and Frome and North Shropshire by-elections.

A recent poll showed Labour will beat the Tories in the most 100 rural constituencies in England.

The Survation survey found Conservative support had plunged by 25 points since the 2019 election, with just 34% of voters in the 100 most rural constituencies in England saying they would vote for the party.

It holds 96 of the 100 most rural seats but faces losing more than half to Labour or the Lib Dems, including those of senior Tories Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, Jeremy Hunt, Therese Coffey, Andrea Leadsom, Mel Stride and Mark Harper.

Labour support has gone from 20 percent in 2019 to 37 percent at the start of this year – giving the party a narrow lead in what has traditionally been considered Conservative territory.

But while the survey suggests Conservative support has collapsed in the party’s heartlands, many rural voters are still “politically homeless”, with almost 35 percent of respondents still undecided.

Support for the Liberal Democrats has remained largely unchanged, with 14 percent saying they would back the party – down only two points from 2019.

The poll, carried on behalf of the Country Land and Business Association in February, also showed neither main party is seen as understanding rural communities.

Just 28% told the CLA that Labour understood them, while 25% said the same about the Tories.

Former Lib-Dem leader Tim Farron, who represents Westmorland and Lonsdale in rural Cumbria, said: “For too long the Conservative Party has taken the votes of rural communities for granted.

“That’s why many lifelong Conservative supporters are telling me on the doorstep they will be lending their vote to the Liberal Democrats for the very first time at the upcoming general election.”

Mr Farron’s claims were echoed by Labour MP Mike Amesbury, who has the rural Cheshire seat of Weaver Vale. The shadow minister for building safety and homelessness said: “In meetings with local farmers, I get the strong impression people feel badly let down by the Tories.

“Farmers are rightly proud of their role in feeding the nation with high-quality, climate-friendly food while maintaining and caring for our iconic British countryside. But they’re not getting the support they deserve.”

Mr Amesbury also claimed Labour would “cut the red tape farmers face at our borders, for both imports and exports”.

But Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg warned Labour would be “worse”.

The MP for North East Somerset said: “I can understand why rural communities feel that they get ignored. But if they think it is not good under the Tories, it would be so much worse under Labour because Labour has no interest in this area because it gets very few votes in rural areas.

“It has no understanding of why the rural community is important.”

Sir Jacob was sceptical about the CLA polling that claimed his seat was at risk – but warned all MPs against complacency.

He said: “The seat in Parliament is a leasehold, not a freehold.

“All MPs should always think they are at risk of losing their seats. That’s democracy.”

But he added: “Always be suspicious of polls put out by lobby groups, because they do it with an axe to grind. The CLA put out a poll saying if you do not implement our policies, you’ll lose your seats. That’s what lobbyists to do.”

Kerry Booth, boss of the Rural Services Network, represents more than 500 organisations and campaigns for fairer funding for rural public services.

She said: “For too long the needs of rural communities have been ignored, whether through unfair funding settlements or a one-size-fits-all approach to policy.

“We want to see the political parties recognise the particular needs and challenges facing our rural communities, and deliver ­policies that meet those needs ensuring our rural areas can reach their full potential.”

Environment Secretary Steve Barclay said farmers “work day in, day out to put food on our tables and are custodians of our beautiful British countryside. This is why we committed £2.4 billion to support farming and have invested to boost productivity and resilience, increase food security and deliver for the environment.

“This includes the largest ever package of competitions and grants to foster technology and innovation, bolstered by our increasingly popular farming schemes that support all types and size of farms to produce food sustainably.”

Case study:

Helen Drinkall says she and many other farmers have been left in “limbo” after the phasing-out of a key EU environmental scheme since Brexit.

And she warned both Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer against complacency.

Helen is an uplands farmer in Chorley, Lancashire.

This generally involves raising livestock such as sheep, cattle and goats.

Helen, who works 5,000 acres with her dad Ian and two full-time employees, said: “We do own a bit of land as well and I own another farm but the majority of the land that we farm is owned by United Utilities, the water company. Our farm is on the edge of the Pennines so it’s not the most productive of land, a lot of moorland, so we’re quite limited.”

Before Brexit, British farmers were eligible for money from the EU’s Basic Payment Scheme

This provided subsidies in exchange for compliance with basic environmental regulations.

Helen said: “Now BPS is being phased out and at the minute, nothing is coming in to replace that.” As a result, she stressed, “we’re basically having to live off savings” and “massively out of pocket”.

Helen, 34, also believes there is ignorance about the importance of farming among the political parties.

She said nobody should take the

support of farmers for granted at the next general election.

Helen said: “I don’t have a lot of confidence in either party at the minute if I’m honest.

“I feel like the Conservatives have kind of let us down but then I feel like Labour also maybe still lacks the understanding of the countryside that I would like.”