Senedd candidates set out rural plans at CLA conference

Prospective Senedd candidates from four parties used a rural business conference in Newport to set out their priorities for farming, tourism and rural communities ahead of May’s Welsh election.

The panel discussion, chaired by ITV Wales political editor Rob Osborne at the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) Cymru’s inaugural Wales Rural Business Conference on 5 March, brought together candidates from Labour, the Welsh Conservatives, Plaid Cymru and Reform UK.

Addressing farmers, landowners and rural business owners, Mr Osborne said the upcoming election on 7 May could be one of the most significant in the Senedd’s history.

See also: Wales deputy first minister concerned SFS could be undone

“You are the people who produce the food, who manage the land, who welcome visitors, who create jobs, who keep communities alive in parts of Wales that simply wouldn’t function without rural enterprise,” he told delegates.

“This promises to be the most interesting election I think Wales has ever had.”

Labour candidate defends SFS

David Darkin, a Labour candidate for the newly created Sir Gaerfyrddin constituency (covering Carmarthenshire), said he wanted to represent rural communities with practical business experience.

“I’m not a career politician. I’m somebody who literally builds things for a living. I understand what it takes to run a business, to employ people, to market planning systems,” said Mr Darkin, who is an architect by trade.

He defended the Welsh Labour government’s plans for the recently launched Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS), telling delegates: “We’ve listened, we’ve changed it, and it reflects the reality that no two farms are the same.”

He added that Labour would maintain the Welsh government’s current annual farming budget of £238m and argued that food security should be treated as a national priority. “Food security is national security, and Welsh farming deserves support,” he said.

Mr Darkin also highlighted planning reform, rural connectivity and water quality as key priorities for the next Senedd term.

Tory funding pledge

Peter Fox, the current MS for Monmouth, is standing as a Conservative candidate for the new Sir Fynwy Torfaen constituency in south-East Wales.

Mr Fox, a farmer himself, stressed the party’s long-standing support for rural communities.

“I’ve been around rural life all of my life. So I understand a lot about what you are all up against, and the Conservative Party knows that as well. We are friends of our rural economy and rural life,” he said.

Mr Fox said the Welsh Conservatives would pledge an additional £100m for Welsh farming over four years and called for changes to environmental and regulatory measures that farmers say add unnecessary bureaucracy.

“We really need to re-evaluate certain areas of the Sustainable Farming Scheme and make sure food is a priority,” he said.

Rural prosperity key – Plaid

Plaid Cymru MS Cefin Campbell, who is also standing as a candidate in the Sir Gaerfyrddin constituency, said rural Wales must be central to future economic planning.

“Rural prosperity is not a niche concern, it is fundamental to Wales’s economic resilience, cultural identity and food security,” he said.

Mr Campbell highlighted the structural challenges facing rural areas, including lower wages, higher transport costs and limited access to services. “Rural areas face structural challenges that are too often overlooked,” he said.

Plaid Cymru’s plans include establishing a business-led development agency and introducing statutory “rural-proofing” of government policy.

“It means putting a robust rural-proofing of all spending plans and policy programmes on a statutory footing,” Mr Campbell said.

Reform prioritises food 

Powys MS James Evans is standing as a Reform UK candidate in the Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd constituency for the Senedd election.

Mr Evans, who is also a farmer, said agriculture must be recognised as a business sector requiring consistent support. “Farmers are businesses, and they need support as well,” he said.

Mr Evans argued that the SFS should continue but be reformed to prioritise food production.

“My view has always been about reforming the Sustainable Farming Scheme, which is producing food for the nation,” he said.

He also pledged that a Reform-led Welsh government would scrap a proposed tourism tax and overhaul the planning system to make diversification easier for rural businesses.

“We need a planning system across Wales that actually enables people in rural communities to build, to diversify,” he said.

Rural importance

CLA deputy president Joe Evans © MAG/Philip Case

Closing the conference, Joe Evans, deputy president of the CLA, said the event had highlighted the importance of the rural economy to Wales.

He told delegates that land-based businesses “form the bedrock of the solutions in food, in tourism, in health, employment, in climate change”.

Mr Evans urged politicians seeking election to engage directly with the CLA, adding: “We are all up for seeing a government implement policies that work.”