Farage vows to replace SFS and cut farm red tape

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has pledged to replace Wales’ Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) and cut farm red tape as the party launched its Senedd election manifesto.

Speaking at the International Convention Centre in Newport on Thursday 5 March, Mr Farage and Reform’s Welsh leader Dan Thomas set out proposals to overhaul agricultural policy and rebuild relations with farmers.

Responding to a question from Farmers Weekly about why farmers should trust politicians after years of policy upheaval, Mr Farage said: “Why should farmers – or frankly any group of people – believe what they’re told by politicians?

See also: Reform pledges to scrap blanket NVZ in Wales

“Farming has had a tough time. We had half a century in the common agricultural policy and nobody in Whitehall was ready for the Brexit vote. We’ve struggled to readjust.”

Mr Farage also accused Labour of being hostile towards rural Britain.

“I actually believe the Labour Party is on a mission to scapegoat the countryside – farmers and country pursuits – in the most unnecessary and appalling way,” he said.

“They proposed taxes that weren’t clearly explained in their manifesto. They even go after things like trail hunting – you may as well ban dog walking.”

Farmers Weekly chief reporter Philip Case quizzes Reform UK leaders on trust and bovine TB © Reform UK/YouTube

Farmers’ concerns over bureaucracy in Wales’ proposed SFS were also raised.

Mr Farage said paperwork linked to the scheme, shown to him by farmers in North Wales, was an example of “classic ‘office in Cardiff’ thinking”.

Reform says it would replace the SFS with a simpler scheme aimed at boosting livestock production, cutting bureaucracy and making environmental measures voluntary.

Bovine TB approach

Asked what a Reform government would do to tackle bovine TB, Mr Thomas said the first step would be rebuilding dialogue with the sector.

“What we can’t do is have politicians micromanaging these things,” he said.

“On day one we’ll bring farmers and farming unions to the Senedd and work on a practical solution that works on the ground.”

Earlier, Mr Thomas told the audience Wales was “very fortunate” to have farmers producing “the best lamb, beef and dairy in the world”, but warned the country was becoming increasingly dependent on imported food.

He said the party would work with farming unions to “safeguard food security, grow exports and strengthen farm-to-fork supply chains”.

Reform also wants to press the UK government to reverse planned changes to agricultural inheritance tax.

IFS verdict

However, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said the Reform manifesto echoed proposals from the Welsh Conservatives but noted the party had “not committed to increasing overall spending”.

David Phillips, head of devolved and local government finance at the institute, said the manifesto had “not fully faced up to the fiscal realities facing the next Welsh government”, warning tax cuts would likely require reductions in some public services.