Labour has lost the rural vote, survey suggests
2nd September 2025
Hundreds of farmers have voiced their dissatisfaction with the Labour government, saying the party has lost their support in the next election.
The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) carried out a poll among 500 farmers who were asked what party they will vote for in the next general election in 2029.
According to CLA, none of the farmers surveyed said they would vote Labour, while 36% said they would back Reform, and 38% the Conservatives.
Additionally, nearly 80% of respondents said they are worried their business will not survive the next 10 years, while over 60% have considered selling their farm and leaving the industry.
Analysing the results, the Countryside Alliance said that while there is no figure from before the last election for comparison, the assumption is that the support that Labour did have amongst farmers was lost with the announcement that inheritance tax would be applied to agricultural property.
A spokesperson for Countryside Alliance said: “There will be those in Labour who believe that this does not matter, as farmers are electorally irrelevant. After all, there are only around 300,000 farmers, directors and spouses in the UK who are spread across hundreds of parliamentary constituencies.
“Even in the most rural of seats they will only ever make up a small proportion of voters, so it is possible to argue that the farming vote is insignificant, especially as there may be an assumption amongst Labour strategists that the majority were not in any way their natural supporters.
“That, however, would be to misunderstand the totemic status of farming and the countryside amongst a much wider proportion of the electorate.”
‘Farmers are significant political influencers’
Countryside Alliance explained that the countryside is central to many people’s understanding of Britishness, and the farmers who look after that countryside are therefore significant political influencers.
Whatever the findings of this snapshot poll, the government still has until 2029 until it needs to call another general election.
Farming leaders are stressing out that Labour has plenty of time to change views within the farming community, not least by changing its approach to inheritance tax, and also to focus on delivering for the wider rural community to mitigate any electoral damage within the farming world.
A new group of Labour MPs – the Labour Rural Research Group – has been formed “to ensure that Labour policy reflects the specific challenges and opportunities of life in our countryside and rural areas”.
Its initial report concludes that rural voters have very much the same priorities as their urban counterparts – healthcare, jobs, the cost of living, the environment – but they believe that rural areas need to be recognised as distinctive by the government if these challenges are to be met.
Countryside Alliance said over three-quarters (82.7%) of rural voters want a rural strategy to tackle the simultaneous challenges of delivering public services across vast geographical areas, addressing skills gaps, and creating lifelong opportunities for rural dwellers.
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