After a long night watching election results come in across the UK, it became clear in the small hours of the night that Labour would win with an historic landslide victory and soon form the next UK Government.

The six weeks following Rishi Sunak’s snap election call on May 22 has been a fast and furious race to the finish, peppered with scandals and the surprise growth and popularity of the Reform Party.

During the last six weeks, the FUW has worked hard to reach and engage with as many parliamentary candidates as possible. We wrote to each and every candidate in Wales providing them with our Manifesto, held 15 hustings across all of the FUW’s counties and heard from 71 candidates.

FUW Senedd and Parliamentary Affairs Officer, Lauren Price said: “This election has brought about considerable change to the political landscape of Wales. We have seen a significant reduction in the number of constituencies from 40 down to just 32 and we will need to work hard to ensure Wales’ agricultural voice is still heard in Westminster.

“There is some concern that the new UK Labour Government’s Manifesto contained very little on agriculture and food security, plus questions surrounding inheritance tax relief on agricultural land will need to be asked. We’ll waste no time in working with the new UK administration to learn more about their plans for agriculture across the UK.

“The hustings held by our county staff across Wales, with NFU Cymru and YFC, allowed us to meet and discuss our key concerns with many of the newly elected MPs. This is crucial for forging the new, and cementing the old, relationships that are so critical to the Union’s effectiveness when influencing Government and ensuring that the voices of our farming members are heard loud and clear in Westminster.

“We have reached out to all newly elected MPs in Wales, inviting them to meet with us, and with members on their farms, to hear the industry's concerns directly from those affected.”

The FUW’s key asks for the next UK Government contained in our Manifesto are: 

• fair funding for our rural economy

• future proofing international trade immigration and a level playing field at border control

• recognise and invest in agriculture’s contribution to climate recovery

• protect our livestock and high welfare standards

• reform public procurement and supply chains.

“While agriculture faces significant change and challenges in the coming years, we look forward to the challenge of doing the very best for our farmers and for the wider rural community,” added Ms Price.