Labour Policy Watch: Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Rural Life

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Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Rural Life
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	Under the Tories, big farmers and agri-businesses flourished, while small, especially livestock, farmers suffered. Even most European funding (from CAP) went to the big operators. The light-touch regulatory regime played its part in the BSE, Salmonella and other scandals over food hygiene and animal welfare. Big areas of forestry were privatised without guarantees over access for walkers. The fisheries industry withered under greater competition and over-fishing. Rural communities suffered losses of public transport, shops and schools, and from the cost of housing being too great for many local people.
	Labour policy was:
	1	To reform British and CAP funding in favour of environmentally sensitive farming and rural employment
	2	To ensure food safety by regulating the food chain from farm to shop
	3	To improve animal welfare, e.g. ending fur farming and battery cages and limiting live animal transport times
	4	To end the privatisation of forestry
	5	A right of access for all to common land, heath, down, mountains and moorland
	6	Fisheries (?)
	7	To give financial support to keep rural communities viable
	8	To ban the hunting of deer, foxes and hares by hounds
	9	To give financial support to organic farming
	In fact under New Labour:
	1	CAP is more environmentally based but the government seems to accept that small farmers must diversify (e.g. run a B&B) or close
	2	There is a Food Standards Agency but the government tried to end independent inspections of abattoirs and sabotage an EU ban on beef from hormone-treated cattle
	3	The government has made or lobbied for these improvements in the EU
	4	No more forests have been privatised ?
	5	There is access but with landowners able to refuse it for up to 28 days per year or permanently for "semi-improved" land
	6	?
	7	Support has been given to rural businesses but not over housing, e.g. see the timidity over council tax on second homes
	8	A ban came late, rather in spite of government, and is hardly being policed
	9	There has been little support though more is proposed. Organic farms were actually harmed when neighbouring GM trials were allowed
	In addition:
		The spread of foot and mouth (FMD) revealed many weaknesses but there was no public enquiry
		It was the big food companies who persuaded the government to slaughter rather than vaccinating in the FMD outbreak
		Leaked government papers recommend building on good agricultural land as we no longer need to be able to feed ourselves
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