Quarter of farmers say they will not vote

Almost one in four farmers say they will not vote at the next general election according to a Farmers Weekly survey. (N stated as 600+).

42 per cent would vote Conservative, down from 39 per cent last year with 10 per cent voting Liberal Democrat and 7 per cent Labour.  'Others' account for 20 per cent.   This is a disappointing figure for the Liberal Democrats given their hopes of making progress in rural seats.

Support for the Conservatives was strongest in south-east England (49 per cent) and Yorkshire (47 per cent).  Support was stronger among larger farmers with 51 per cent of those farming more than 500 hectares saying they would vote Conservative.

21 per cent in Scotland and 29 per cent in Wales would vote Conservative.   In Scotland Labour was the most popular party with the Scottish Nationalists in third place with nine per cent.

The NFU have just demanded that the farm budget be expanded from £2.4bn to £4bn, something that either leading party is unlikely to be able to afford given the fiscal outlook.