FUW election ambitions outlined to Welsh Liberal Democrats

Ahead of the Senedd elections on 7 May, the Farmers’ Union of Wales recently met with Welsh Liberal Democrat candidate Glyn Preston to outline the Union’s key priorities for the next Senedd and Welsh Government.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats’ lead candidate for the new Gwynedd Maldwyn constituency met FUW Montgomeryshire County Chair Wyn Williams on his 280-acre hill farm near Llanfair Caereinion, where they were also joined by FUW President Ian Rickman.

During the meeting, the FUW reiterated its key manifesto calls for the next Welsh Government to provide adequate funding, maintain close collaboration with the farming industry, and deliver a medium-term financial framework that gives Welsh farming businesses greater certainty.

As part of its election priorities, the Farmers’ Union of Wales is calling on the next Welsh Government to increase the base-level funding of £238 million for the Universal Layer of the SFS by an amount that fully mitigates the estimated economic impacts and supports the Scheme’s ambitions. Based on the Government’s own assessments, this would require an increase of at least £76 million.

The meeting also provided an opportunity for the FUW to outline its wider ambitions for the sector ahead of the Senedd election. These included reducing on-farm bureaucracy, delivering a science-led and properly resourced strategy to eradicate bovine TB, and addressing ongoing concerns surrounding NVZ regulations and the unintended consequences they continue to create for family farms.

Commenting following the visit, FUW Montgomeryshire Chair Wyn Williams said: “It was great to welcome Glyn Preston to our farm and to have the opportunity to discuss the key issues facing Welsh agriculture. Visits like this are invaluable in ensuring candidates understand the realities on the ground and the challenges that family farms are currently facing.”

FUW President Ian Rickman added: “As the crucial Senedd election approaches, we continue to engage with candidates from across the political spectrum through hustings, candidate briefings and farm visits. 

"This latest visit with Glyn Preston provided a further opportunity for the Union to outline our key priorities for the next Senedd and Welsh Government. It is essential that future policy decisions deliver stability, fairness, and long-term confidence for Welsh family farms, which remain at the heart of our rural economy and communities.”