1 REFORM UK: AGRICULTURE & FISHING
AGRICULTURE & FISHING
2 REFORM UK: AGRICULTURE & FISHING
REFORM UK: AGRICULTURE & FISHING
Foreword by the Party Leader
Brexit was a golden opportunity to take back control of our waters and revitalise the fishing communities I worked hard to represent during my time as an MEP. The Conservatives betrayed those communities during the Brexit negotiations. Even now the European Union enjoys a quota of nearly 90% of Celtic Sea Cod and a quota of 80% of Eastern Channel Sole.1 Labour have extended the Tories’ terrible fishing agreement for another 12 years for nothing in return as part of their sellout ‘reset’ deal. Labour are also waging a war on the rural way of life through their family farms tax by, imposing endless amounts of red tape on already overburdened farmers, and trying to turn productive arable land into wind and solar farms. Farmers also face being undercut by imports and having unfair prices imposed on them by purchasers. Reform UK now enjoys record support amongst farming communities that have long been neglected by successive Labour and Conservative governments. Rural and fishing communities were abandoned by a Conservative party that failed to take advantage of Brexit opportunities to secure British waters or recognise farmers as the true stewards of the land. This Labour Government is only worsening their plight. Only Reform UK can be trusted on agriculture and fishing. Nigel Farage MP, Leader of Reform UK
Introduction
We’ve already announced detailed farming policies in our Manifesto for Wales, and farming and fishing policies in our Manifesto for Scotland.2 This document outlines how we will approach agriculture and fisheries at a national level. These principles illustrate that Reform UK is committed to restoring confidence, profitability, and long term sustainability to British agriculture and fishing. These will feed into detailed policy proposals that will follow; our policies will be informed by engagement with farmers and fishermen, industry experts, and other stakeholders. We are the only political party that is serious about supporting farming and fishing communities and promoting food security, whilst still advocating for responsible stewardship of the natural environment. 1. https:/ /eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv%3AOJ.L_.2021.149.01.0010.01. ENG&toc=OJ%3AL%3A2021%3A149%3ATOC 2. https:/ /www.reformparty.uk/policies
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Principles for Our National Agricultural Policies British and English agriculture is at a crossroads. After decades of inconsistent policy, rising costs, increasing regulatory burden, and declining profitability, confidence across the farming sector has collapsed. At the same time, the importance of domestic food production, environmental stewardship, and rural resilience has never been greater. Farming is not just another industry. It feeds the nation, sustains the villages and market towns that depend on it, and shapes the landscapes we have inherited. Reform believes that agricultural policy must be practical, grounded in reality, and informed by listening to those who work the land. The following principles will guide our agricultural policy formation: 1. Farmers as environmental stewards - farmers are the original custodians of the countryside. Environmental delivery must sit alongside, not replace, food production. Policy should clearly state that the primary role of agricultural land is food production, not accommodating solar panels or wind turbines, with environmental schemes designed to support this objective. A UK wide framework should ensure schemes are practical, voluntary, and workable across different farming systems, from upland livestock to lowland arable, and that they help to improve farm profitability and resilience. 2. Food security - we must not become further reliant on imported food. Food security will be explicitly recognised as a UK wide strategic priority. Agricultural policy must maintain self-sufficiency in key sectors, and protect productive agricultural land. 3. Profitability - there is no environmental progress without economically viable farm businesses. Policy must focus on restoring profitability through fairer supply chains (including enforcement through the Groceries Code Adjudicator), sensible regulation, ensuring a stable operating environment, and making practical investments in productivity. Reform will support investment in areas such as soil health, water management, infrastructure, and technology. Funding should be accessible to a wide range of farm businesses, ensuring that productivity gains are delivered across the whole sector, not just larger enterprises. Ensuring that farm businesses are consistently viable is essential to maintaining production across all regions of the UK. 4. Less bureaucracy and a stable policy framework - farming organisations repeatedly highlight that regulatory burden and constant policy change across UK and devolved frameworks has undermined long term investment. Farmers face uncertainty, duplication, and complexity across multiple agencies and administrations, which increases cost without delivering proportional benefit.
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Reform will commit to simplifying regulatory systems, reducing duplication, and streamlining the inspection regime, alongside creating a consistent framework with ring-fenced multiyear funding cycles that allow businesses to plan for the future with confidence. 5. Back British standards - British farmers operate to some of the highest standards in the world. Policy will embed this into public procurement, ensuring that British farmers are the preferred suppliers across government contracts, and that badly negotiated one-sided trade deals, including with the EU, do not allow lower quality imports to undermine British produce. In addition, clearer country of origin and production method labelling (including for non- stun slaughtered meat) should be introduced to support consumer choice and reinforce confidence in British food standards. 6. Support the next generation - the future of farming depends on attracting and retaining new entrants. Policy must remove barriers to entry, support skills development, and ensure that farming remains a viable and attractive career. Policy will support farm succession, and a Reform government would repeal the family farms tax to ensure farmers are allowed to pass on their farms to the next generation without punitive taxation. 7. Supporting rural Britain - farming policy cannot be separated from the wider rural economy. Strong farming businesses support jobs, communities, and supply chains across rural England. This includes maintaining critical services such as abattoirs, livestock markets, and veterinary provision, as well as improving connectivity and supporting rural enterprise. A strong farming sector is essential to the wider resilience of rural Britain.
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Principles for Our National Fisheries Policies Our fishing communities have been abandoned by the Government for too long. Britain has a wealth of natural resources that we bargained away to join the then European Community in the 1970s. After decades of neglect, fishing communities voted to take back control in 2016, but, yet again, fishing rights, the true litmus test of Brexit, were traded away in the Withdrawal Agreement and Trade and Cooperation Agreement by the Conservatives. Labour have now chosen to capitulate to the EU on fishing as part of its ‘reset’, giving away a further 12 years of fishing rights for nothing in return. We should be seeing the beginning of a renaissance in our coastal regions. Instead we see the continuation of the policies of neglect and disinterest from Whitehall. Reform UK will restore the UK’s proud fishing heritage, unlocking the wasted potential of our seas to revitalise fishing communities. Restoring our fisheries will take sustained effort across several fronts. We first need to take back control of our waters from foreign exploitation. Fishing within British waters is a privilege not a right for foreign vessels. Bringing back processing and ensuring that fish caught in British waters are landed and processed in Britain will revitalise our coastal regions. 1. Secure our waters - we will renegotiate the EU reset deal and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement to recover our quotas for UK fishermen, end automatic access to the UK’s Exclusive Economic Zone for foreign vessels, and ban foreign supertrawlers entirely. We will stop the selling out of our fishing communities in trade negotiations for cynical horse trading. Licensing will be properly enforced, including by stopping the abuse of flags of convenience by EU boats. 2. Restore the UK’s fishing fleet - the British owned fishing fleet 3 has shrunk by more than 50% since the 1980’s, a Reform government will reverse that. We will consult with our fishermen and support the development of a fishing fleet that fits their needs. Regulation will be proportionate, minimal, and local: Scottish fishermen have different needs to Cornish fishermen. Our reforms will mean that British fishing vessels are British-owned and British-crewed. 3. Revitalise fishing communities - one job at sea creates many more jobs onshore. We will review taxes, regulatory requirements, and other incentives to return fish processing to the UK. We will ensure that fees from licenses for foreign vessels are reinvested in coastal communities. 3. Considered to be those vessels that are British owned and operate from the UK. Excludes boats using a flag of convenience
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4. Protect our marine heritage - British fishermen understand and care for the marine environment far more than they are given credit for. Restrictions on fishing in Marine Protection Areas (and elsewhere) must therefore be proportionate and evidence based. 5. Legislative and regulatory reform - we will bring fishing communities and their generational knowledge into policy making. Whitehall must be less detached from the reality faced by coastal communities. We will explore whether dynamic ocean management is superior to fishing quotas based on Total Allowable Catches. Next steps We will begin a process of engagement with farmers, fishermen, trade bodies, and other experts to develop detailed national agricultural and fisheries policies for inclusion in our General Election manifesto. If you would like to get involved, please email policy@reformparty.uk
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