Farmers turn to local council for help amid despair with Labour policies

An enterprising Conservative councillor has put forward a package of action in support of farmers in his rural ward and called for other local authorities around the country to follow suit.

Daryl Corps, 51, received unanimous support for his motion to prioritise providing local produce in council-run schools and care homes in late March.

Gloucestershire County Council agreed to offer the package of support for the agricultural sector in a cross-party recognition of the numerous challenges facing local farmers, including rising fertiliser costs linked to the Iran war, tax hikes and extreme weather conditions.

Alongside prioritising locally produced food in the 300 schools overseen by the council and in wider procurement across its public services, cabinet members will develop a plan for extended mental health services in the rural community and a public initiative promoting the benefits of eating local.

Mr Corps said he proposed the measures in response to the despair of his largely rural electorate at the Labour government's approach to the agricultural sector.

Dissatisfaction has centred on Rachel Reeves' Family Farm Tax, the levying of 20% inheritance tax on farms worth over £1 million, which the Chancellor raised to £2.5 million in December after months of backlash.

"You can tell from Westminster's policies that they don't represent or understand the countryside at all," Mr Corps told the Express. "We've got a really strong Cotswold community of farmers who voted for us to be their representatives. We want to champion them and do what we can to ease the pressure they're facing."

The motion generated cross-party support, with Liberal Democrat councillor Paul Hodgkinson praising its advocacy for the region's "hardworking farmers" and Green Party representative Chloe Turner saying she doesn't think Labour "understands the rural economy and farming in particular".

Britain's agricultural industry took an unprecedented hit after Ms Reeves announced the inheritance tax changes in November 2024, with a record 6,270 agricultural businesses shutting in the year to last July.

Centring food procurement on local producers is an easy way to instil a system of support and consistent trade for Gloucestershire farms on an insular level, Mr Corps said.

"The council spends millions on procurement each year, so it's not about finding more money, it's about redirecting it to local suppliers and producers," he said. "In our country alone, thousands of meals are provided every day."

While other councils have sold off their farmland for development or alternative use in response to industry uncertainty, Gloucestershire City Council has retained around 7,000 acres, comprising 63 farms and 40 additional lettings.

"It's a very rural area," Mr Corps said. "Pretty much all the employment in my ward of Morton, Stow and The Rissingtons is related to farming or hospitality in one way or another.

"But I think this is something that could and should be replicated elsewhere - it's a way to restore faith in elected officials for people who may have lost it."

Jeremy Theyer, 50, a farmer and Conservative councillor on Cotswold District Council, privately rents around 600 acres of land in Gloucestershire and rears ewes as well as keeping chickens and semi-wild Oxford Sandy Black pigs.

The dire economic outlook of the sector, which sees farmers regularly report profits of around 1%, has recently cost him 150 acres of prime grassland because its owner saw more value in using it to grow hay.

The costs of tenanting some of his fields in the Cheltenham area have also risen by £20 an acre, making any form of financial support a welcome prospect.

"The council's new approach is brilliant," he said. "We need to fly more flags for British produce and get people across the country on board with backing local farmers in any way possible."

"It's a business that has always been on a knife-edge," the 50-year-old added. "We're heavily reliant on factors like the weather which are completely out of our control. And there's a huge misconception about land value being the same as cash in hand.

"The last Conservative government at least seemed willing to listen. With Labour, it feels like that door is closed. Decisions have been made without forethought by people sitting behind desks with no on-the-ground experience."

Mr Theyer said Gloucestershire was "the perfect place" to launch a local food procurement scheme, with residents already acting as a reliable customer base.

"Our pigs run semi-wild in the woods and we sell pork to the local farm shop, using the abattoir less than four miles away," he said. "We have chickens too, and sell the eggs on the side of the road.

"Everything that happens to the animals is within a four-mile radius, then it's back on the plate. That's a great thing to have in schools and in care. That's how you teach people the benefits of eating locally - for us, but also for the environment and everyone's health."

The Labour government has also pledged to help regional authorities boost local food procurement, handing grants to councils in Middlesbrough, Brighton and Hove, Bristol and Cambridge with the aim of sourcing 50% of public sector food either locally or from sustainable sources.

Food security minister Angela Eagle said: “With nearly £5 billion spent on food and catering in England each year, the public sector has enormous purchasing power. That is a real opportunity to improve public health, back local business and build more sustainable food supply chains.

"By learning from those already leading the way, we can raise food procurement standards right across England and ensure our food procurement spend delivers for the local economy.”