Who can lead change on food?

As the dust settles on a Labour landslide, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has appointed his cabinet and ministers. FFCC’s work with citizens, progressive businesses, farmers and environmental campaigners shows that there is huge enthusiasm for action from government on food, farming and land issues - illustrated best by The Food Conversation and the Hope Farm Statement. We look forward to working closely with the new government to help turn policy proposals into action.

The new Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed OBE MP,? has already set out clear priorities for his tenure. We have been in touch with him this week to highlight our research from Devon & Cambridgeshire and the fact that a Multifunctional Land Use Framework could align his goals to protect the countryside and food production and help secure a more resilient future for rural communities.

The Defra Team includes familiar and experienced faces. We welcomed Daniel Zeichner MP, Baroness Sue Hayman and Emma Hardy. We look forward to continuing our conversations with them, backing a progressive, ambitious and just farming transition, for climate, nature and health. We encourage them to take stock to build on extant policies where they are working, and to take this opportunity to evaluate progress, adjusting course where necessary. ??

As expected, Wes Streeting MP takes the job of Secretary of State for Health & Social Care. We look forward to taking our work with citizens involved in The Food Conversation to the new Secretary of State and his team. It's clear from our work over the last year citizens are supportive of elements in the Labour Manifesto to tackle food-related ill-health and are ambitious for more. It’s good to see Andrew Gwynne MP’s new job title include ‘prevention’. Overwhelmingly, we see citizens calling for strong preventative health measures across children’s health, public procurement and ultra-processed food and it was good to hear the Secretary of State on Tuesday (at the Future of Britain Conference) reiterating the importance of prevention in his plans to 'save the NHS'. We look forward to involving the health team more in our Food Conversation work throughout the autumn.?

The new Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves MP will face many difficult choices in the coming months. Food and farming are at the heart of some of the most complex economic challenges facing the new government, yet they are also the solution. It was helpful to hear Wes Streeting recognise that good health is fundamental to economic prosperity at the Future of Britain conference, and this is just as true for a healthy environment. The Food Conversation shows consistent backing from citizens for the ‘polluter pays’ model, redistributing revenue from those damaging health and environment to support sustainable farming and the availability of healthy food.?

Anneliese Dodds MP as Minister for State in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and Kerry McCarthy MP as Minster for Climate in DESNZ have a real opportunity to reset the UK's contribution to international leadership through food by leading on high and rising standards for access to safe and healthy food, environmental sustainability, animal welfare and health, and a coherent global trading environment.

Pat McFadden’s appointment to the Cabinet Office will focus on delivering the new government’s missions. We are encouraged by his focus on practical and cross-cutting ways of working for all departmental programmes – joining up work across departments, devolving resources and power with a focus on delivery, and ensuring that technology accelerates innovation that benefits society.

From farm to fork – food matters, to everyone, everywhere. We’re looking forward to working closely with the new government.

FFCC's First 100 Days asks: https://ffcc.co.uk/make-food-fair