A poll conducted by the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) has revealed that 65% of its members do not trust the Labour Party to support the English countryside.
The survey of nearly 300 respondents also revealed that 6% do trust the Labour party to support the countryside, with 28% remaining undecided.
CLA president, Mark Tufnell, said this snapshot of the support for the Labour Party shows how far the party has to go to “win over rural voters”.
“Labour says it’s the party of the countryside, but so far its policy announcements have suggested otherwise,” he said.
“Persistent rumours around access and right to roam are of huge concern to many, while scrapping agricultural property relief and business property relief, as was recently reported in the press, would be so damaging when many farmers are already on the brink.
“Removing business property relief would hit family businesses no matter their size, and stripping away agricultural property relief would jeopardise the future of farms up and down the country, at a time of profound change in the industry adjusting to new agricultural policies.”
Tufnell said the poll also reveals that a “significant proportion” of its members are undecided, meaning that the Labour Party still has time to prove itself to rural voters.
“It’s clear that whichever party produces a robust and ambitious vision for the rural economy will secure support,” he said.
In May of this year, a CLA survey revealed an 18% fall in rural support for the Conservative Party.
The survey of over 1,000 people in England’s 100 most-rural constituencies also revealed a surge in support of 16% for the Labour Party.
The organisation for rural landowners said swathes of the Conservative Party’s ‘rural wall’ are defecting to the Labour Party after “years of economic neglect”.
Political parties and British farming
Earlier this week, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) said British food and farming needs to be a priority for all political parties.
The union said it is “more important than ever” for political parties to back British farming ahead of the next general election.
NFU president Minette Batters said: “It’s more important than ever for political parties to back British food and farming.
“The nation’s food security has rarely been more prominent than in the past few years, and with the challenges we’ve faced it’s clear that we need to reassess how we value food and farming.
“Let’s not forget, this is a sector which forms the backbone of our rural communities, our much-loved countryside and our food and drink industry, which is worth more than £100 billion to the national economy and employs four million people.”
