Steve Reed arrives at Downing Street to be appointed Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Credit: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images.
The expression “it is hope that kills you” is said to have come – in sentiment if not in exact wording – from the Roman philosopher Seneca the Younger, but it is a human instinct to get excited when the old is swept away and the new is full of promise of better times to come.
The UK’s new Labour government, which has come to power after 14 years in what was once known as the opposition’s Siberia, wants to get down to business straight away and, with a large majority after last week’s general election, has a mandate to take action to deliver improvements across all sectors.
To welcome the new government, food industry groups have reiterated some of the demands made in the run-up to the election, reminding the new Secretary to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Steve Reed, of some of the key issues he will face.
Rod Addy, Director General of the Provision Trade Federation, said: “PTF welcomes the new Government and, along with the rest of the industry, stands ready to work with it to address the immediate obstacles and challenges that stand in the way of maximising UK growth.
“These include food security and barriers to international trade, the impact of climate change and mitigation, the cost of living crisis, the health crisis and labour and skills shortages. While the government faces financial constraints, there are significant opportunities to work with the pig, dairy and fish industries to strengthen UK employment and GDP and achieve shared goals.”
And Karen Betts, CEO of the Food and Drink Federation, said: “With the right conditions, our industry can drive investment, productivity, innovation and growth across our economy. There is also huge scope to improve trade and grow skills across the country, bringing more people good jobs and great careers in a sector that is central to everyone’s daily lives.”
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Collaboration between departments
Reed will be aware that he needs to work across departments such as the Home Office on issues surrounding skills and labour shortages, but Labour’s sentiments about closer cooperation with the European Union on trade and immigration offer hope that improvements can be made to allow agri-food companies to bring in workers from overseas, where there have been labour shortages following Brexit.
The farming sector will be pleased to see Minette Batters, former chair of the National Farmers’ Union, given a peerage title. She is expected to be a powerful voice for farmers and growers in the House of Lords.
Food processors and producers, who sometimes felt overlooked in the discussions between the previous government and the wider agri-food sector, and industry experts will note that there has been no discussion about creating a dedicated Minister of Food or appointing a food industry specialist in a kind of food tsar role, focusing on issues such as the fight against obesity.
In opposition, Labour promised to ban the advertising of unhealthy food products to children before 9pm. Campaign groups will certainly be pressuring them to keep their word and it will be interesting to see what other means the new government uses to tackle the weight issues that are putting such a strain on the NHS.
Plenty to do for the new government on agrifood. The first 100 days of a new government are usually the days when much of the heavy lifting is done in terms of future policy initiatives, so we don’t have to wait long to find out what the plans are in more detail.
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