Questions over Labour’s rural policies will need to be addressed - Jonathan Roberts

In Labour’s minds, however, the manifesto was necessarily vague. The simple truth is that the British public tend to punish parties who set out detailed plans – Theresa May’s perfectly sensible social care policy, for example, was the catalyst that cost her a majority in 2017 – and with a sizeable poll lead, Starmer clearly felt too much detail was too big a risk.

This isn’t particularly helpful for those farmers who need to know what the agriculture budget will be going forward, as they consider which environmental and productivity schemes to enter into. Without that budget, it is difficult for farmers to plan ahead.

Labour figures were keen to tell the CLA, however, that the manifesto was not the sum of their policy thinking, and they were very receptive to our Rural Powerhouse campaign, which argues for a comprehensive rural policy covering not just farming, but planning reform, a better supply of affordable housing and radically improved connectivity in the countryside.

Nevertheless, Labour’s political opponents sought to capitalise on the detail-light manifesto, throwing mud in the hope some of it stuck. The allegation that Labour would scrap agricultural property relief (APR) was one floating around the farming community in the days prior to the election. We have seen no evidence that this allegation is true – indeed, the now Secretary of State Steve Reed told the CLA’s Rural Business Conference in November that the relief would definitely not be scrapped, reiterating the view on a recent appearance on Radio 4’s Farming Today programme.

Put simply, no APR, no family farm. No family farm, no food security. So even the faintest question mark over the future of APR quite reasonably causes huge concern among the farming community, and the CLA is permanently vigilant to any threat, genuine or perceived, to its continuation.

Labour will no doubt learn from this experience. The previous government was not famed for communicating well and it paid a price. The absence of information breeds rumour – and those rumours can sincerely worry business owners, many of whom are already teetering on the edge.

As with governments of any colour, we need to know they are on our side. The prevailing attitude towards Labour from many in the countryside is a legacy one – that they don’t understand or care about rural communities, seeing them solely through an urban lens. Historically, this has been true. I have to say though, that in my dealings with them in recent months, I have found them to be engaged, willing to learn and eager to help.

Their manifesto commits to policies we strongly support: the continuation of Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMs), planning and housing reform, better grid and digital connectivity, being tough on rural crime.

There are areas we cannot support: the scrapping of hope value on land subject to compulsory purchase or the ending of the badger cull – even if they have sensibly said it won’t be before alternative methods of controlling bovine TB are in place. There is a much larger list of policy areas where we have a huge question mark, where Labour has not yet decided exactly what it thinks.

This is where the CLA comes in.

Following a huge programme of engagement with candidates across Yorkshire and beyond, we have launched a new document, entitled ‘A programme for government: delivering Labour’s manifesto for the rural economy’. We have taken the manifesto and a number of speeches from key Labour figures, analysed them, and developed a detailed document to explain how the government can deliver its objectives in a way that supports the rural economy.

There are risks ahead – this will always be the case - but there are opportunities too, and to Ministers' credit they have come out of the starting block quickly, unashamedly looking for new ways to generate economic growth.

We have been robust in reminding them that the rural economy can be a genuine source of growth too. For too long the countryside has been seen as a museum, a nice place for townsfolk to visit, rather than a hub of new businesses, skills and opportunity. This attitude must change, and removing the barriers to economic growth in the countryside must be their priority.

Jonathan Roberts is director of external affairs at the Country Land and Business Association.