Rupert Lowe MP@RupertLowe10
As you know, farming is very close to my heart. I have had lots of questions on what Restore Britain would do for rural Britain. The following points will form the basis of our Restore Britain agriculture policy.
Above all else, we are clear that food security is national security. Without it, the country starves to death. It really is that simple.
So what would Restore Britain deliver for British farmers?
Fix delayed and unpredictable subsidy payments.
Payments must be on time and reliable. Cashflow matters for farmers. I am one. I understand better than most. Uncertainty is a real killer. Anyone in farming knows how volatile the system is. Mutating rules are impossible to follow. Not to mention the ludicrous staff turnover at DEFRA. Farming is a long term, capital intensive business. It needs one thing above all else. STABILITY. Farmers need a five to ten year plan, absolute minimum. I pushed DEFRA on this - I received a totally clueless response. They just don’t care.
Slash and simplify red tape - and let farmers FARM.
Enough inspections for the sake of inspections. Enough paperwork that adds cost but no value. Stop the endless form filling. Hours and hours farmers spend filling out these pointless sodding forms. Restore Britain will get farmers FARMING.
Reform DEFRA and Natural England from top to bottom.
These bodies have become obstacles rather than enablers. They need root-and-branch change. Mass sackings. Bring in people with genuine agricultural experience. The current inhabitants are city-dwelling liberals who understand nothing about rural Britain. Not good, not working, not acceptable. Start again.
Review the power of the supermarket distribution oligopoly.
A handful of buyers hold excessive power over our farmers. Producers should not be forced to sell at such low costs while a tiny number of supermarkets protect their margins - urgent review needed. Restore Britain will deliver fair competition.
Ensure fairness.
British farmers are required to meet ultra high standards, so imports must meet the same. They do, or they don’t come in. British farmers must not be undercut by overseas producers benefiting from cheaper transport, lower standards, and often hidden state support. With Restore Britain, fair competition means equal rules.
End the punishment of farmers under lunatic Net Zero policies.
Farmers should not be penalised for heating buildings, running machinery, or producing food. When China burns through a mountain of coal every few seconds, we must realise that British farmers are not the enemy.
Scrap EU-era rules we no longer have to follow.
Keep what works. Bin what doesn’t. Brexit should mean regulatory freedom. We left. Despite the total mess it has been, we must at least get some of the benefits for British farming.
Relax and radically simplify planning.
Restore Britain will allow and encourage diversification - farm shops, processing, storage, tourism, and sensible on-farm development. Give tax breaks for diversification and stop blocking rural enterprise. Overhaul planning. Hand the power to responsible farmers, and away from the council planning toads. It's their land, they should be able to do what they like (within reason.)
Protect family farms through fair taxation.
Restore Britain would scrap the farming tax in its entirety. Scrap ALL inheritance tax. And not just for farmers, but for everyone. We must help older farmers pass farms on to the next generation without being punished for doing so.
Invest in people.
Restore Britain would expand farming apprenticeships. Help vocationally minded young people into agriculture. We would give the next generation of farmers a future that they are willing to dedicate their life too. It is a risk. If they take it and succeed, they should be rewarded.
Back British labour.
Make it easier for British workers to take up farm work. Use benefit claimants who constantly refuse work to pick vegetables or whatever. We DO NOT need cheap unskilled foreign labour. We’ve got it right here. Clamp down on seasonal visas - it’s being abused to import low-skilled labour from incompatible cultures that go on to overstay their visa, commit crime and generally become a nuisance to our society.
Support domestic fertiliser and input production.
Restore Britain would immediately act to reduce reliance on volatile global supply chains for essential inputs. Food security depends on input security. This is so important. Without this, there is no farming. You don’t just plant a seed in the ground and there’s a vegetable months later, despite what many MPs believe.
Scrap the proposed firearms licence changes.
They are unnecessary, bureaucratic, and would criminalise responsible farmers while doing absolutely nothing for public safety. We would leave responsible gun owners alone.
Public sector buying British.
This is a huge, untapped market. We’ve got schools and hospitals shipping in poor quality produce from overseas, rather than purchasing from local farmers. That’s wrong. Even if it’s slightly more expensive, the knock-on effects for the economy will be vast. The public sector is a vast buying power - use it to back OUR farmers. A Restore Britain Government would BUY BRITISH.
Enforce CLEAR labelling.
People must know exactly what they are buying - where it was produced, to what animal welfare and food safety standards, and under which regulatory regime. No misleading packaging. Make it abundantly clear what is British and what is not. We all want to support our farmers, let’s make it as easy as possible.
Non-stun slaughter, banned.
I have been consistent on this. It is cruel, barbaric and un-British. Animal welfare comes ahead of religious exemptions. Both halal and kosher slaughter would be banned, happily.
This is the basis of Restore Britain's policy for rural Britain. There will be much more to come.
I believe it is all logical, and would deliver the food security that Britain so desperately needs in an uncertain world.
Farmers - it’s been a long time, I know. But you finally have a political party that will fight for you.
Not just to reverse recent changes, but to fundamentally overhaul the ENTIRE system.
Restore Britain is on your side. I hope you consider backing us.
