North Devon farmer warns Labour’s 'Spring Push' ignores reality of rising costs

A North Devon farmer and county councillor has warned that a new government-backed campaign to save British farming risks “missing the reality on the ground.”

Cheryl Cottle-Hunkin, who balances life on the farm with her role at County Hall, said that farmers across the UK feel “attacked, not supported, by this Labour government,” and if this campaign is to mean anything, “it must go beyond warm words.”

It comes in response to the “Spring Push for Profitability” campaign launched on March 30 by the Labour Rural Research Group, which focuses on more honest food labelling and better protection against substandard imports. 

The campaign calls for two measures: 

Honest labelling which includes the mandatory origin and welfare labels so shoppers can confidently choose British and high-welfare produce.

Secondly, ‘Level the Playing Field,  to ensure farmers get a fair deal when they negotiate internationally, and when they negotiate with supermarkets. 

The research group of over 40 Labour backbenchers says that farmers have faced a “perfect storm” in recent years due to poor post-Brexit support policy roll-out, rising input and labour costs, and tougher environmental regulations. 

Ms Cottle-Hunkin told the Gazette that while transparency over food origins was “incredibly important”, it failed to address the competitive disadvantages of local food producers. 

She argued that British farmers are being forced to compete with an uneven playing field against overseas imports produced to standards that “would not be legal here, and that’s not fair.”

“When families are watching every penny, price inevitably wins, and no amount of labelling will overcome that. 

“We should not be importing any food that doesn’t meet our standards,” she told the Gazette. 

According to Ms Cottle-Hunkin, England is now one of the only countries in Europe not offering direct support to farmers for food production. 

Data has revealed that UK food self-sufficiency has fallen from around 78 per cent in the 1980s to roughly 54 per cent today. 

Ultimately,  Ms Cottle-Hunkin believes that protecting the rural economy requires more than just clearer packaging. 

She is calling for “urgent action” on input costs and a guarantee that British standards will not be undercut. 

She said: “Any serious plan for profitability must start with urgent action on input costs and a clear commitment to back British farmers, not work against them.”