Daniel Zeichner – 2024 Speech at the NFU Summer Reception

The speech made by Daniel Zeichner, the Farming Minister, in the Attlee and Reid Room in the House of Lords on 18 July 2024.

Thank you so much, Tom, thank you for that very, very kind introduction. Ministers often say they are really pleased to be here. I think you will understand I’m really, really pleased to be here.

And let’s start by thanking you Tom, David, Rachel, Abby and Aled for the advice and help you have given me in learning this brief over the last four or five years. I suppose I’m in a slightly fortunate position in the sense of having done the shadow brief for four and a half years. I’ve always said, I was always finding out how much I didn’t know. And now I’m in the department, that’s really quite clear. It’s a learning process but you and all your staff have been hugely supportive in providing support for me.

Can I just start by saying that the Secretary State would have loved to have been here today. He’s actually visiting one of our key facilities in terms of protecting our biosecurity, which I think you will be pleased to hear. He sends his very best wishes and we were delighted to first meet Rachel at the Great Yorkshire Show last week. We wanted to send a very clear message in our first few days. And I listened very closely to the wise words of Lord Carrington and your wise words, Tom. And let me say, absolutely at the outset, I recognise the pressures that so many people are under – very much echoing your points. The climate issues, which have led to flooding in an unprecedented way, is a real challenge. The threat of disease, which we know is all too real. And of course, the cost pressures. And we know that, put together, they’re putting a huge toll on people’s mental health. And let’s be frank, uncertainty. Uncertainty about policy direction and change – all of which contributes to making life really, really hard.

Now, some of those things are big things that we must address but the policy uncertainty, it is my responsibilities to address. So, I keep coming back and I will keep coming back to the key point the Prime Minister has been making. That it’s about public service, it’s about stability. And this job isn’t actually about us. It’s about you and the people you represent. For a long period of time now, my boss, Steve Reed, the Secretary of State, has been saying “we’re not going to upset the apple cart”. I always thought it’s a slightly interesting phrase really; I’m not sure there are that many apple carts anymore. All those Australian Pink Lady apples, I doubt they come by apple cart.

But the point is an important one, we absolutely recognise the need for stability. I’d also say that in terms of public service, I look around and I see some familiar colleagues from the last Parliament. And I say, welcome back to all of those. But I also see many, many new people, and a really warm welcome to all the new colleagues. Let me make an offer to all of you.

In the last Parliament, I think it’s fair to say that some of us enjoyed many a happy day in Westminster Hall or at Defra questions on a Thursday morning. Sometimes it was a slightly small, select band. But I think we always tried to work in in a friendly, positive and collegiate way. And it’s true that some of the big characters have left. Jim Shannon is still here and I’m sure he’ll be making his voice heard. But what I want to say is, I will try and make sure that the debates will continue to be conducted in a spirited, collaborative manner. And I’ll try and work it out in a cross-party way wherever I can because these challenges are bigger than just one particular party or one particular government.

I’m going to say a little bit about where the current government is coming from. You’ve heard the words: food security is national security. This is absolutely at the centre of Labour’s mission to grow the economy and actually underpins the agendas of multiple government departments and constituencies. So, food security is a shared mission of this government. Absolutely, we share it with you. And to get there, we’ve pledged a number of things and this will be familiar to many from the manifesto.

We’re absolutely determined to boost rural economic growth and enhance Britain’s food security with a new deal for farmers. We really, really want to seek a new veterinary agreement with the EU to get our food exports moving and absolutely want to make sure that farmers aren’t undercut by low welfare and low standards in trade deals. We want to cut people’s energy bills by switching on GB Energy. We absolutely want to speed up the planning decisions to allow farmers to rapidly plug renewable energy into the grid.

Whenever I’ve gone around – I’ve done many, many visits over the last couple of years – I’ve always been shocked by crime. It’s a horrible thing. It’s unsettling. In some cases, it’s more than unsettling. It’s downright vicious. I’m talking about people which are not easily intimidated. But some of the stuff people face is really horrible. So, we’re absolutely committed to the first ever cross-government rural crime strategy. Of course, this will cover agricultural theft, fly-tipping and livestock worrying but also that personal sense of people feeling anxious.

More positively, we want to empower agricultural businesses to upskill the workforce through a reformed apprenticeship levy. Going back to my earlier point, we want to tackle mental health and loneliness, with a mental health hub in every rural community and 8500 more mental health professionals.

Let me go back to the point about stability and continuity. That’s one of the ironies of the election campaign – the change was the change to stability. And I think that’s an absolutely key point. It’s what many of you need most of all because remember, you are businesses. You’ve got to be able to run effective businesses. And every sector, it’s the same – business needs stability. So, that will be our goal. So, when people have asked me about whether we’re committed to the ongoing transition to the environmental land management schemes – absolutely, we are committed. Of course, there will be tweaks, changes; it’s been an iterative process so far and that will continue to be the case. But we’re absolutely committed to working with you to make sure that this system works for farmers and delivers both food security and also provides the protections we need for our environment.

And let me conclude on one of the most difficult issues which you raised with me the other day, Tom. We are determined to eradicate bovine TB. The goal is 2038. That’s quite a long time away. But we’re absolutely determined to do it. It’s a complicated issue. Everybody knows that. We absolutely believe we can do a lot through biosecurity, herd management, and speeding up the development of a vaccine that works with an effective test and all the things that need to come in terms of trade and so on. And I know the culling debate is a really, really hard one. Very, very contentious. Huge passion on both sides of the argument. But let me tell you, the Secretary of State has been clear: the current round of licences will be honoured. I absolutely believe we’re only going to eradicate bovine TB by working closely and constructively together to use all the science and everything that we’ve got to beat it. We are going to beat it. I tell you, I’ve already said to the department, that is my top priority. So, you have my assurance.

In conclusion, we’re committed to supporting farmers and rural communities to boost Britain’s food security, protect and enhance the environment and grow the rural economy. We absolutely want to increase confidence and build trust between farmers and government. And I so look forward to working with you, Tom, and everyone else here throughout this Parliament to deliver the practical policies that are needed to achieve that mission. Thank you very much.