Labours victory promises change but challenges lie ahead

Here we have a Labour government committed to change. It is not clear whether that will extend to agriculture and food, where there is certainly potential to do things differently.

The story of election night was less about the inevitable win for Labour, but the complete disaster it was for the Conservatives. Many to the fore in driving Brexit, including getting behind the Johnson ‘get Brexit done’ slogan, have gone from politics.

David Cameron called the Brexit vote to end divisions in his party, but the process of finding a new future for the beleaguered party is far beyond the challenge he faced then from the eurosceptic wing of his party.

The architects of Brexit, not least Boris Johnson who sought to profit from it more than he believed in it, are gone from the political stage. The bizarre decision to wheel him out  in the final days before the election was not a master stroke for success, but a reminder of all the things the party had got wrong, including its weak deal with Europe and the fun in Downing Street during Covid, while the rest of society played by the rules. All elections bring a political reset, but this time it will be massive.

That is partly down to the return of a party out of government for 14 years, but also to a new determination to move away from an approach that left people disillusioned with the political process .

Time will tell whether the new government will bring change to agriculture. It is making positive noises as it is over other issues, but time will be the only judge of success in improving food security and the economic position of rural areas.

A government with a huge majority is a double-edged sword. It has the power to be radical and deliver any policy it wants, but it equally has the power not to be pressurised to respond to lobby groups and political opponents.

It is a fair guess that most of new Labour's frontbench were not supporters of Brexit, but Sir Keir Starmer has made clear there will be no reversal and no rejoining of the single market.

That said, I still believe Labour will be more open to joining the European Economic Area, where we probably should have been all along.

The new government is committed to better relations with the EU and, in trying to secure those, it will not be looking at naysayers on its backbenches, or in the case of the Conservative government on its frontbenches and cabinet.

This can only be to the advantage of farming and food – and would be a victory for the common sense denied by Johnson’s and Lord Frost’s ‘get Brexit done’ bad deal with Brussels that emerged. But the scale

This should make trade easier, open better access to professionals we need via mutual recognition of qualifications and perhaps some return of access on farms to migrant labour from the EU.

On all these issues the need for change is, but Bof of the challenge on all fronts will make expectations hard to manage in what will be a long game.

If the Conservative party is in disarray, the situation is worse in France.

The far-right National Rally party of Marie Le Pen fell short of a majority in parliament, but so too did the other parties. France is now seeking to unite the centre with the far left to keep out the far right.

This can only end in even more political instability. France is not only one of the biggest EU member states and a founder of the original EEC, it has driven European  policy for decades.

Instability will be a huge problem for Brussels. The frustration with politics that drove the vote for National Rally is greatest in depressed urban areas and rural areas, where farmers and others are disillusioned with Paris and the EU. Le Pen’s sights are on the French presidential election in 2027 and she will want to keep instability going to weaken opponents and drive opposition to how the EU operates.

Against that background, the UK may find a better deal with the EU easier to secure, as Brussels seeks to cure that running sore while tackling a bigger one in France.