On behalf of NFU Cymru and its membership, I extend my congratulations to Sir Keir Starmer on his victory in last week’s UK General Election, as well as those who have just been elected to the Westminster Parliament, and to Labour who will now form the new government.

With 40 Welsh seats becoming 32, changes in the political makeup of Wales were inevitable, but there were of course huge changes also afoot on account of fundamentally different public attitudes towards the main political parties as compared to 2019.

In what was a bleak night for the Conservatives in Wales, with the party losing all their seats, Labour emerged with 27, Plaid Cymru with four and the Liberal Democrats with one. Reform did not make any inroads in terms of picking up any Welsh seats, although they had some strong second place finishes. However, if we consider that the Senedd election in May 2026 will be contested on a purely proportional basis, we can see how this opens up opportunities for parties who struggle to pick up seats under a first past the post arrangement.

At NFU Cymru we have written to offer our congratulations to the new Prime Minister, Defra and Welsh Secretaries of State as well as our elected MPs from Wales. We have highlighted our willingness to work with the new government and MPs from all parties to help deliver on our ambition for a productive, progressive and profitable Welsh farming sector alongside reiterating our key asks from our General Election Manifesto. 

While most of the policy areas we deal with sit under the control of Welsh Government in Cardiff Bay, NFU Cymru’s manifesto set out the union’s priorities for those Westminster controlled policy areas that are integral to delivering our vision.  

These priorities included an inflation adjusted, ring fenced and multi-annual agricultural support budget, which will take us through to the next election, helping give the industry certainty in order to plan for the future and to deal with market-place volatility.

We must also ensure we see food production and food security given the priority they need and deserve to ensure we support primary production in Wales. We want to see minimum standards and the promotion of fair and functioning supply chains, as well as an increasing amount of Welsh food in the public sector and to strengthen country of origin labelling. Future trade deals must also be more balanced with the needs and sensitivities of the agricultural sector taken in to account.

As the next UK Government gets down to work, you can be assured that NFU Cymru will be using every opportunity to meet with our MPs and new Government Ministers in order to take forward the interests of Wales’ farmers.