Who Does the National Farmers Union Represent?
This slowness to act is typical of government. They are tied to the vested interests of the NFU leaders. The NFU is not a union in the sense in which most workers would understand it. It exerts enormous pressure on government but its pressure is mainly on behalf of the biggest farmers, the most powerful of agribusiness, those who receive the majority of grants, subsidies and tax allowances. They are the ones who have the time to be involved. Most small farmers could not afford to travel to London for the constant meetings and lobbying. The leaders of the NFU don’t have to lobby too hard. Many Tory MPs have farms. The Minister of Agriculture generally is a farmer and in many constituencies they are an important force, especially Conservative constituencies. Of course, people who eat food are the majority in every constituency but we don’t traditionally either have the money or access to information or power that rich farmers have. The MAFF at the moment combines responsibility for both
