Stuart Anderson MP has condemned Labour’s 25-Year Farming Roadmap as a “missed opportunity” to support domestic food production, warning it offers no real plan to stop the crisis of confidence in farming and escalation of farm closures.
Stuart Anderson MP said:
“South Shropshire’s famers are the backbone of our rural economy but they are being badly hit by rising costs, falling incomes, and Labour’s Family Farm Tax. With £5 billion of public money spent on food for schools, hospitals, and the public sector every year, the government should guarantee that this money goes to British farmers first. Yet, Ministers can’t even tell us how much of that food is currently procured from UK farms, and they admit we won’t have that data until 2027. This lack of direction is fuelling a crisis of confidence in farming, with small farm sales at their highest level in almost twenty years and over half of farmers not positive about their future of farming. Farmers need action now, not warm words and delayed data. To restore confidence, the Conservatives would fully repeal the Family Farm Tax and put British food first in public procurement.”
New government data has revealed that only 35% of farmers feel positive about their future in farming. The government’s recently published Farmer Opinion Tracker shows that only 3% of farmers feel “very positive” and 32% feel “somewhat positive” about the future. This has barely improved from 33% recorded in 2025 after the Family Farm Tax was announced. The controversial move imposed a 20% inheritance tax on agricultural and business assets above £2.5 million. Over half of respondents, 53%, said that they were “not at all positive” about their future in farming, while the remaining 12% said they are “unsure” about the future. Stuart has said that farmers on the ground in South Shropshire are telling him exactly the same story as the statistics reflect: rising input costs, falling incomes, and changes to inheritance tax are pushing family farms to the brink. Strutt & Parker’s Farmland Database shows 177 farms were publicly sold in the first half of 2026. This is the highest figure for that period since 2007, and up from 167 in the same period in 2025. While more farms are being put up for sale, average land prices have edged lower with arable land down 6% and pasture down 3% over the last year.
The government’s recent Farming Roadmap was seen as a major opportunity to back British farmers. It pledges to help farmers access £5 billion worth of public sector food contracts. However, The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has said that the plan “falls short on action and even shorter on the means of delivery.” Stuart is disappointed that it does not restate Labour’s pledge in the 2024 General Election to ensure that half of all food purchased across the public sector is locally produced or meets higher environmental standards. In Parliament, Stuart pressed Ministers to ensure food procurement prioritises South Shropshire farmers. He submitted a written question, asking what percentage of food procured in the public sector is produced domestically. In response, DEFRA admitted that it does not even know the current figure, and that it will not have this data until Summer 2027. DEFRA said “data collection on the extent to which public sector settings are serving food from local sustainable sources is currently underway” and expect this to be completed by next summer.
Stuart has said that family farms are central to South Shropshire’s rural economy. He wants the government to prioritise British food in all public sector procurement so that farmers in South Shropshire get a fair share of the £5 billion market. He also wants the government to address rising costs, the impact of inheritance tax changes, and publish clear data on how much public food is being sourced from local suppliers. The Conservatives have already pledged to repeal the Family Farm Tax if returned to government after the next General Election.
