Suffolk Coastal MP speaks about Labour’s responsibility to British farmers
3rd October 2025
Jennifer Riddell-Carpenter, MP for Suffolk Coastal, has spoken about Labour’s responsibility to ensure that rural communities are “front and centre” of the government’s mission for inclusive growth and opportunity.
MP Riddell-Carpenter attended a Countryside Alliance side event hosted during the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool last Sunday, 28th September.
The event was attended by Labour MPs, councillors and party members, with MP Riddell-Carpenter, who is also the chairwoman of the Labour Rural Research Group (LRRG), being one of the speakers.
Made up of 26 rural Labour MPs, the LRRG has been set up to bring forward research, evidence and policy ideas that will help unlock the potential of rural communities while highlighting the challenges the countryside faces, with the understanding that rural areas should be at the heart of national ambitions, according to the Labour Party.
Speaking about the challenges facing rural communities, Riddell-Carpenter MP said that it is an “undeniable truth” that the UK’s rural areas have been left behind.
“They have been too easily overlooked or too frequently misunderstood. This culture of failing to understand – and then failing to serve – our rural areas is a truth that has prevailed in successive governments, of all colours and political persuasions.
“As MPs representing this so-called ‘Rural Wall’, we now have a responsibility to ensure that rural communities are front and centre of the Labour government’s mission for inclusive growth and opportunity. That’s why nearly 30 Labour MPs from rural and semi-rural areas across England, Scotland, and Wales came together to form the Labour Rural Research Group (LRRG), which I chair.
“Our mission is simple: to ensure rural voices are no longer ignored and that our rural communities are at the centre of national conversations about growth, opportunity, and our country’s future,” she continued.
‘Labour can’t afford to take our rural heartlands for granted’
MP Riddell-Carpenter also spoke about the LRRG’s recent report, Understanding Rural Britain, which identified the necessity for a distinct rural strategy to address issues such as rural services and the future of farming and food production.
She further stressed the importance of rural communities, stating that “Labour can’t afford to take our rural heartlands for granted – we can’t deliver our mission without our rural areas”.
The Countryside Alliance members said they welcomed Ms Riddell-Carpenter’s constructive line and hope that farmers will see this appreciation for the importance of the countryside translated into positive action and policy.
‘Not enough farmers know someone in the Labour Party’
The NFU has also hosted a fringe event at the Labour Party Conference with Labour Coast and Country in attendance. This campaign group seeks to promote Labour policies that support people living in rural areas.
The panel consisted of NFU president Tom Bradshaw and four rural Labour MPs: Jessica Asato (Lowestoft), Sean Woodcock (Banbury), Jane Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) and Maya Ellis (Ribble Valley), and was chaired by Labour Coast and Country’s co-founder Hywel Lloyd.
The event opened with a statement that not enough farmers know someone in the Labour Party and not enough people in the Labour Party know a farmer.
The audience was then challenged to get to know each other in the room and come up with questions for the panel, which reflected the key issues facing rural Britain.
The NFU reported that there were strong calls from the audience for the government to have a food resilience strategy to tackle global impacts such as climate change and the current geopolitical situation, as successive governments have taken this for granted.
NFU President Tom Bradshaw stressed the vital need for a thriving domestic food system, calling on the government to prioritise it.
All attendees agreed that family farms are crucial to food resilience and in their roles within their communities, with each MP reflecting on instances when farmers have cleared fallen trees, been the first responder at times of flooding and handled local emergencies.
Trailer of Truth rally
The campaign organised by Farmers To Action has seen a number of meetings being held across the country to highlight the pressing issues facing the farming sector.
The movement aimed to highlight concerns over inheritance tax reform, rising National Insurance contributions, declining rural living standards, and the erosion of food and energy security.
The organiser said that the day went “extremely well” and according to plan.
“Farmers To Action was led into Liverpool city centre by the Rolling Thunder Veterans motorbike association, which made for a grand spectacle, followed by our Trailer of Truth with a mock funeral procession to represent farmers’ lives taken due to the ever-increasing sanctions placed on us and to represent the potential death of the farming industry.”
READ MORE: Trailer of Truth makes final stops ahead of Sunday’s big rally
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