鈥淭he next Labour government will commit to this 鈥� 50% of all food purchased by the public sector will be food produced locally and sustainably,鈥� Sir Keir told NFU23 delegates.
鈥淭hat is 拢1.2 billion of public money spent on quality food that is genuinely better for peoples鈥� health.
鈥淎nd 50% is just the minimum. We will do everything to go beyond it.
鈥淲e鈥檙e committed to reforming public procurement. And seasonal, sustainable, British-grown food is a key part of it.鈥�
"Food security is national security"
Echoing former MI5 Director General Baroness Eliza Manningham-Buller, Sir Keir said that 鈥渇ood security is national security鈥�.聽
This means that farmers need business certainty, including on labour availability, rather than 鈥渟ticking plaster politics鈥�.
He told delegates: 鈥淪ometimes, because of the sheer breadth of farming鈥檚 contribution, we can lose sight of its ultimate goal. But we need sustainable food production.鈥�
That was especially the case in a world fundamentally changed by the Ukraine war, Sir Keir said, but it didn鈥檛 mean environmental aspirations should be pushed too far down the pecking order.
鈥淵ou can have both,鈥� the Labour leader said.
Net zero goals "tough, but right"
鈥�So the next Labour Government will commit to this: 50% of all food purchased by the public sector will be food that is produced locally and sustainably.鈥�
Leader of the HM Official Opposition Sir Keir Starmer
The NFU鈥檚 Net Zero by 2040 aspirations were 鈥渢ough, but right鈥�, he added, as were the 鈥榩ublic goods鈥� aims of ELMs, even if its implementation had not been.
鈥淓nvironmental Land Management; I have said, it鈥檚 the right direction,鈥� he added.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no point overturning the applecart. But where there are problems we will work with the NFU to fix them.鈥�
He added: 鈥淩olling these schemes out well is the difference between viable farming businesses and abandoned farms.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 have underspends, or farmers struggling whilst they wait for the right SFI standards to be announced. It鈥檚 too important, especially now.鈥�
Labour would remove trade barriers
Sir Keir claimed that the current government had 鈥済iven up鈥� on farmers and rural communities, evidenced, he said by 鈥渢hat trade deal鈥� with Australia, which he described as 鈥渁 拢300m hit to British farming鈥�.
He said a Labour government would 鈥渞emove barriers to exporters, not put them up鈥� and 鈥減rotect high British standards, not water them down鈥�.
Caring for the countryside
Sir Keir vowed to reform countryside public services and to sweep aside the notion that politicians don鈥檛 respect the people they represent, and the sense that some communities had politics 鈥渄one to them鈥�.
鈥淚 know this sentiment is especially strong when it comes to farming and the countryside,鈥� he added.
鈥淟et me acknowledge Labour鈥檚 role in that. It鈥檚 not deliberate; we care deeply about the countryside, but all too often in the past, we have come across as the party of urban Britain.鈥�
If rural voters were swayed, they would see 鈥渁 different Labour Party鈥�, he promised, one that would ensure there were adequate police officers to address antisocial behaviour, fly-tipping, or off-road biking in the countryside.
鈥淲e鈥檒l get 13,000 more police into our towns and villages, more police on countryside streets,鈥� Sir Keir said.
鈥淣obody should be waiting over an hour and a half for an ambulance, or get burgled time and again with no prosecutions.
鈥淣obody should be comfortable that mental health support is scarcely available.
鈥淏ut all of this requires a different approach. One that is designed 鈥� from the start 鈥� with respect for the challenges of the countryside.鈥�
Meet the speakers from this session
Minette Batters
Former NFU President
Diversification includes the conversion of a 17th century tithe barn into a wedding and corporate events venue, and horse liveries. Minette co-founded the campaigning initiatives 'Ladies in Beef' and the 'Great British Beef Week'.
Campaigning on behalf of NFU members about the importance of British food and farming has been a key driver for Minette throughout her time at the NFU. In 2020 she led one of the most successful petitions ever, bringing together a coalition of chefs, including Jamie Oliver, farmers, environmentalists, consumer groups and animal welfare experts 鈥� resulting in over one million people signing the NFU food standards petition. She has also regularly engaged with different media genres including appearances on Desert Island Discs, Question Time, and Any Questions.
She has been an NFU member from grassroots through to County Chair; she served as Wiltshire鈥檚 Council delegate and also as Regional Board Chair for the South West. Minette has also been a member of NFU Governance Board and served as NFU Deputy President for four years from 2014 to 2018, before being elected as president in February 2018. Minette is also an ambassador of Farm Africa and was made a Deputy Lieutenant to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth in 2021.
Officeholder responsibilities聽
- Trade and standards
- EU and international relations
- Taxation and fiscal policy
- Science and research and development
- Food supply chain (fair dealing, Markets and Authorities, competition, regulation)
- Food service
- AHDB
- Levelling up
- Education
The Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer MP
Leader of HM Official Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party
In 2008 Keir was appointed Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and Head of the Crown Prosecution Service for England and Wales, a role he held until 2013. Keir studied law at Leeds University and St Edmund Hall, Oxford, and has published several books including Three Pillars of Liberty: Political Rights and Freedoms in the UK (1996) and European Human Rights Law (1999).
Keir was first elected as the MP for Holborn and St Pancras in 2015. He lives in the constituency with his wife and two children and is an avid Arsenal fan.
