UK opposition leader Keir Starmer will pledge that a Labour government would boost public purchases of local food as he seeks to appeal to country’s embattled farmers.
(Bloomberg) — UK opposition leader Keir Starmer will pledge that a Labour government would boost public purchases of local food as he seeks to appeal to country’s embattled farmers.
Labour would ensure that at least half the food bought by the public sector would be produced at home or highly sustainable. That equals £1.2 billion ($1.44 billion) of public money and would aid food security and the agriculture sector, according to a statement before Starmer speaks at a farming conference on Tuesday.
It’s “a clear target for every year we are in government,” he’s set to say at the conference in Birmingham, England. “50% is just the minimum. We will do everything to go beyond it. We will buy more cereals, more oilseed rape, more strawberries, more beef and more British apples.”
Starmer will address the farming industry at a time when it’s under pressure from issues including high costs of livestock feed, energy and fertilizers, as well as a lack of workers and a bird flu crisis. The National Farmers’ Union in December warned that the UK was sleepwalking toward another food crisis.
Labour also wants to use public purchases to help improve peoples’ health amid concerns over worsening diets and rising obesity.
The plan echoes recommendations from the government-commissioned National Food Strategy. The report, prepared by Henry Dimbleby, recommended strengthening state procurement rules to ensure that taxpayer money is spent on healthy and sustainable produce.
The NFU on Tuesday urged the government to commit to promoting domestic food production and encouraging sustainable farming as part of efforts to support domestic agriculture.
The clock is “ticking for those farmers and growers facing costs of production higher than the returns they get for their produce,” NFU President Minette Batters said in a conference speech. “It’s ticking for the country, as inflation remains stubbornly high, and the affordability and availability of food come under strain.”
Also on Tuesday, the government pledged more than £168 million in grants to farmers this year to support food output, improve animal welfare and drive innovation — such as robotics to aid harvesting.
Starmer will also commit to expanding police presence in rural areas after recently outlining a series of crime-tackling policies. He’ll promise a different approach to trade as well.
“We are going to talk to our friends in the European Union, and we are going to seek a better trading relationship for British farming,” Starmer will say. “We want to remove barriers to exporters, not put them up. We want to protect high British standards, not water them down.”
(Updates with NFU call and government pledge from seventh paragraph)
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