Analysis of the manifestos reveals useful insight into the policy alliances and divisions that might influence what the next government is able to deliver for farming, nature and rural land.

Net zero and environmental regulation

This has split the political spectrum. The Conservatives seem to be watching Reform closely on climate issues, including pledges in its manifesto such as reforming the Climate Change Committee to give it an explicit mandate to consider the cost to households and the UK energy security in its future climate advice.

The Conservatives also name both Natural England and the Environment Agency as targets for reform in decision-making to make sure economic needs are not overlooked for environmental ones. There is a definite break from the last government in terms of the role of nature markets. The Conservative’s promise to scrap nutrient neutrality and replace it with a ‘one-off mitigation fee’ is not a surprise, but the general muted emphasis on private finance for nature is.

In comparison, Labour has been much more forthright on green finance, promising in its manifesto to champion the role of the UK as a global leader in green finance. It includes specific pledges on the role of financial governance, such as to reverse the recent decision not to require the Bank of England to give due consideration to climate change in its mandates, but only dangles an undefined carrot in ‘golden rules’ to ensure development benefits communities and nature. The Conservative manifesto does not go much beyond a promise to ‘continue to unlock’ private finance.

The Liberal Democrats are the only party to specifically promote the use of nature-based solutions as a critical element of future climate and industrial strategy, but it is undoubtedly implicit in the Green’s £40 billion a year shift to a green economy. The political weight of Reform after 4 July is unknown, so the long-term influence of its net-zero scrapping, brown economy approach remains unclear.

The Conservatives are the only party saying anything specific about tree planting, promising reform of planning rules that hold back woodland creation. The other parties mention trees only in passing. The focus this time is very much on how to tackle water quality, with all parties committing to address raw sewage releases into rivers and seas with various mechanisms to enforce and prosecute those who do. Only the Liberal Democrats raise the link between agriculture and water quality.

Food and Farming

The Greens, Liberal Democrats and Conservatives all have eye-catching pledges to increase the amount of money available for agriculture by £1 billion a year (index-linked for the Conservatives).

Reform promises to raise the total to £3 billion, and the Conservative party is specific in pledging to make sure the devolved budgets are ring-fenced for farmers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Labour party is silent on the budget issue; instead, it pledges to make the Environmental Land Management scheme work for farmers and for nature. A budget increase could be implicit given the wide stakeholder support for more funding for nature-friendly farming.

There has been a distinct lack of interest in food security from the  government until fairly recently; food security and public procurement receive broad support across all manifestos. Reform pitches for 70% of the food we consume to be produced in the UK, and the Conservatives pledge support for a legally binding national target. And while Labour accepts that ‘food security is national security’, it doesn’t explain what this will mean.

The Conservative and Labour parties promise to procure 50% of public sector food needs from local sources or ‘higher environmental standards’.

All the main parties commit to a land-use framework, although the Conservatives go no further than saying they will support its development, whereas the Liberal Democrats are clear they will use it to balance competing demands on land

Public access

Improving public access is a consistent thread, from the Conservatives pledging more ‘access to nature’ routes to Labour offering to ‘improve responsible access to nature’ and the Liberal Democrats going so far as ‘exploring’ a right to roam on waterways. Only the Greens are asking for a full right to roam in England.

Infrastructure and housing

Labour has made substantial noise about unlocking infrastructure and housing development, but the difference between the pledges on planning reform between the two main parties is narrower than headlines suggest. The Conservatives want to cut decision-making time on major projects down to one year from four and ‘protect the green belt from uncontrolled development’. In comparison, Labour is pledging a more ‘strategic’ approach to green belt designation and making use of existing intervention powers to build more houses. Both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats support rural exception sites.

In terms of broader housing delivery, Labour is pledging 1.5 million homes in the next parliament with mandatory housing targets, and the Conservatives 1.6 million. All the parties (except Reform) support funding for warmer homes and are making concessions on onshore renewable energy. Labour pledges to double onshore wind, triple solar and quadruple offshore wind. The Conservatives trailed its pledge to protect the best agricultural land from solar developments some weeks ago but has gone further to say that onshore wind should be subject to democratic consent and benefit the areas that host wind turbines. The emphasis on community benefit is a theme that runs throughout the manifestos, from energy to community assets more generally. The Labour manifesto doesn’t cover it but policy announcements before the election have been consistent on Labour’s support for community ‘right to buy’. A cynic would say this right to buy might unlock goodwill as well as sources of capital that a cash-strapped public sector might not have available, but the pattern of community involvement in decision-making and investment is a sign that this emergent approach could become mainstream. 

Further information

Contact Kelly Hewson-Fisher