Domestic Farming and Food Supply

Tim Farron Excerpts

Tuesday 27th October 2026 Westminster Hall

[Carla Lockhart]

The hon. Member’s farmers will have heard his point very clearly. He is a real advocate for the farming community in his constituency, and he is absolutely right. Driving production overseas will not remove the need for food. It will leave us buying more of it from elsewhere, with less control over how it is produced and with further distances to transport it.

[Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)]

The hon. Lady is being incredibly generous with her time, as ever. She will recall that the Defence Secretary told families last weekend to be ready for potential shocks that might come our way. Does she agree that, given what she was just saying, the UK as a whole needs to be far more ready to become food secure? Only 60% of the food that we eat here is produced across our four nations. Is it not the job of all four Governments in this country—the three devolved ones and the UK Government—to ensure that we have farm payment schemes that encourage the production of food, so that we can become food secure?

[Carla Lockhart]

Absolutely. Farm payments are critical to ensuring just that. I wholeheartedly agree with the hon. Member, who is another real advocate for our farming and rural communities.

Our farmers will make improvements where there are practical, affordable ways to do so, but they should not have their livelihoods put at risk by targets pursued with little regard for the consequences. The same applies to imports. Earlier this year, I raised concerns about imported eggs and egg products, including reports that imports had increased by 60% since 2021. Our producers have spent considerable sums meeting the standards required of them. They are rightly angry at the prospect of being undercut by egg producers under systems that would not be permitted here. Government cannot impose those costs on our farmers and then shrug their shoulders when cheaper products arrive from elsewhere.