Support for Farmers

Rachel Gilmour Excerpts

Wednesday 21st October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Gilmour (Tiverton and Minehead) (LD)]

I am pleased to be able to speak in my party’s Opposition day debate; I am less pleased about the context in which it takes place. Both Conservative and Labour Governments have failed to deliver an effective post-Brexit farm payment system. The consequences have been severe, not only for the viability of British farms but, ultimately, for our nation’s food security. The most recent example is the farce of the SFI window 2. After almost a year without access to the sustainable farming incentive, farmers were given little warning of its return, only for the scheme to slam shut in under six hours. A budget of just £233 million was never going to touch the sides.

What is most damning is that this outcome was entirely foreseeable. A first come, first served application process, combined with inadequate funding, was always going to create a scramble. In that scramble, those with greater resources, more sophisticated systems and stronger connectivity enjoyed a clear advantage.

[Dr Danny Chambers (Winchester) (LD)]

I heard from many farmers in Winchester and Hampshire who desperately wanted to apply for the SFI, but most of them had to work during the day and it had closed by the time they got back. One of them compared it with trying to get Oasis tickets. As my hon. Friend says, the process clearly favours very large businesses that have full-time managers and admin staff. It puts family farms at a disadvantage, because individual farmers have to work outside.

[Rachel Gilmour]

I was about to comment on the fact that my farmers on Exmoor were immediately put at a disadvantage, because they have limited broadband and limited connectivity. I was contacted by a farming family from West Bagborough who were in complete despair. They made the self-evident point that farmers cannot simply abandon the working day at a moment’s notice and spend hours online desperately trying to secure support before the window closes.

Farmers have endured a perfect storm: inheritance tax, soaring energy costs, bluetongue, drought and now this latest SFI debacle. Farmers’ trust in the Government was already on the floor, and this recent episode has undermined whatever scintilla of trust remained. Once again, farmers have been left with the impression that Whitehall neither understands nor appreciates the realities of farming. What remains particularly frustrating is the ongoing lack of certainty. Farmers still do not know the shape of SFI27: what it will contain, when it will begin and what level of support it will provide. The farmers of Tiverton and Minehead are not interested in hearing about jam tomorrow; they need to know what support is available today.

[Adrian Ramsay (Waveney Valley) (Green)]

I thank the hon. Lady for her speech, and I agree that it is absolutely crucial for farmers to have confidence in long-term policy support. My farmers in Waveney Valley tell me they want to invest in measures that support natural flood management, restore nature, such as new hedgerows, and improve soil health, which are critical for food security. Does she agree that the window 2 debacle shows the level of interest there is, and that far more funding is needed in the SFI funding pot?

[Rachel Gilmour]

I wholeheartedly agree. In fact, we discussed it at the Public Accounts Committee just last week.

Farmers cannot operate in the dark; they need certainty. Farming is not a short-term enterprise. Decisions taken today affect planting, stocking, investment and land management years into the future. On the Public Accounts Committee last week, we examined the resilience of the UK’s food supply chain to disruption, and the session reinforced what many of us have long argued, which is that food security is national security. As co-chair of the APPG on farming, I heard the same message in our meeting with representatives from across the sector on Monday. That is why it should never be lost on us that farmers are on the frontline of climate change. They see changing weather patterns, degraded soils and seasonal disruption before anyone else. The woodlands, wetlands and grasslands they manage are essential to our biodiversity and natural environment.

Farmers are famously stoic and resilient, yet even the strongest shoulders can carry only so much. The financial pressures, the uncertainty, the long days, the drought, the extreme heat, bluetongue and now the recent SFI disappointment have combined into an overwhelming burden for many. For some, that burden has led them to take their own lives. I conclude with a simple message to the farmers of Tiverton and Minehead: “I am with you.” What my farmers and I want to know is whether this Labour Government are with them.