National Farmers' Union of England and Wales

Last updated

NFU
National Farmers' Union
Founded1908
HeadquartersAgriculture House, Stoneleigh Park, Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, England, CV8 2TZ
Location
  • England and Wales
Members
55,000 Farmer and Grower members, 34,000 Countryside members
Key people
Officeholders 2022–2024: Minette Batters, President; Tom Bradshaw, Deputy President; David Exwood, Vice President; Terry Jones, Director General
Website Official website OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The National Farmers' Union (NFU) is a member organisation/industry association for farmers in England and Wales. It is the largest farmers' organisation in the countries, and has over 300 branch offices.

Contents

History

On 10 December 1908, a meeting was held in an ante-room at the Smithfield Show to discuss whether a national organisation should be formed to represent the interests of farmers. The outcome was the National Farmers' Union (NFU).

The first President, Colin Campbell, worked to get new branches off the ground, encourage membership and establish the NFU's credibility with Government, at a time when farming was going through the longest and deepest depression in its history, as imports of cheap grain and frozen meat flooded in from abroad.

At the 1918 general election, the union ran six candidates, none of whom were elected. In 1922, it sponsored three unsuccessful candidates under its own name, and four successful Conservative Party candidates. It again sponsored Conservative candidates in 1923 and 1935, but has not done so since. [1]

The NFU is registered as an association of employers under the 1974 Trade Union and Labour Relations Act. In 2000 it founded Assured Food Standards which administers the Red Tractor food quality mark.

The NFU elected its first female president, Minette Batters, in 2018. [2]

Election results

1918 general election

ConstituencyCandidateVotes %Position [1]
Barnard Castle Octavius Monkhouse1,27410.04
East Norfolk William Benjamin Taylor 1,92612.33
Hertford Edmund Broughton Barnard 7,15838.82
Leominster Ernest Wilfred Langford2,87017.43
Ormskirk Stephen Hirst4,98928.33
Richmond (Yorkshire) William Parlour4,90733.22

Barnard was also sponsored by the National Party.

1922 general election

ConstituencyCandidateVotes %Position [1]
Carmarthen Daniel Johns4,77515.93
Howdenshire H. J. Winn7,02139.52
Leominster Ernest Shepperson 10,79853.11
Ormskirk Francis Blundell 11,92158.71
Rutland and Stamford E. Clark4,47120.33
Stone Joseph Lamb 7,74238.31
Wells Robert Bruford 10,21047.71

Blundell, Bruford, Lamb and Shepperson stood for the Conservative Party.

1923 general election

ConstituencyCandidateVotes %Position [1]
Leominster Ernest Shepperson 11,58257.31
Ormskirk Francis Blundell 10,59853.01
Stone Joseph Lamb 10,00150.81
Wells Robert Bruford 9,90944.22

All candidates stood for the Conservative Party.

1924 general election

ConstituencyCandidateVotes %Position [1]
Leominster Ernest Shepperson 13,23752.51
Stone Joseph Lamb 12,85657.31

Both candidates stood for the Conservative Party.

1935 general election

Two candidates were sponsored and elected for the Conservative Party.

Function

The NFU proclaim themselves as 'The Voice of British Farming'[ citation needed ], the NFU states that it "champions British farming and provides professional representation and services to its Farmer and Grower members." [3]

It negotiates with the government and national organisations on behalf of English and Welsh member farmers.

Structure

The NFU is governed by its Constitution and Rules. Under the Constitution and Rules the NFU shall maintain a number of bodies, which are responsible for the Governance of the NFU. These include NFU Council, Governance Board, Policy Board, National Commodity Boards, Regional Commodity Boards, an Audit and Remuneration Committee and Legal Board and Regional Boards. [4]

The NFU has an office in Brussels, Belgium to represent the interests of British farmers to the European Union.

The NFU is closely associated with the insurance mutual company NFU Mutual, which is also based in Warwickshire.

NFU Cymru is based at the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells.

Archives

The archives of the NFU are deposited with the Rural History Centre at Reading University. [5]

Arms

Coat of arms of National Farmers' Union of England and Wales
Notes
Granted 9 September 1946 [6]
Crest
On a wreath of the colours a scythe and sceptre in saltire Or.
Escutcheon
Vert a chevron Ermine between in dexter chief a hull's head and in sinister chief a ram's head caboshed and in base three ears of wheat banded all Or.
Motto
Labore Agricolae Floreat Civitas

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of the United Kingdom</span> Political system of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

The politics of the United Kingdom functions within a constitutional monarchy where executive power is delegated by legislation and social conventions to a unitary parliamentary democracy. From this a hereditary monarch, currently King Charles III, serves as head of state while the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, currently Rishi Sunak since 2022, serves as the elected head of government.

The Co-operative Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom, supporting co-operative values and principles. Established in 1917, the Co-operative Party was founded by co-operative societies to campaign politically for the fairer treatment of co-operative enterprise and to elect 'co-operators' to Parliament. The party's roots lie in the Parliamentary Committee of the Co-operative Union established in 1881.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Evans (politician)</span> British politician (born 1950)

Jonathan Peter Evans FRSA is a Welsh lawyer, businessman and former politician. He has been Chairman of the British Insurance Brokers Association since 1 January 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Plumb, Baron Plumb</span> British politician and farmer (1925–2022)

Charles Henry Plumb, Baron Plumb, was a British politician and farmer who went into politics as a leader of the National Farmers' Union. He later became active in the Conservative Party and was elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP). He served as an MEP from 1979 to 1999, and was President of the European Parliament from 1987 to 1989, the only Briton to hold the post.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mick Bates (Welsh politician)</span> Welsh politician (1947–2022)

Mick Bates was a Welsh politician who was a Member of the Welsh Assembly (AM) for Montgomeryshire from 1999 to 2011. Bates was a member of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, before serving out the rest of his term as an Independent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Farmers Union (United States)</span> A nationwide union for farmers in the United States

National Farmers Union is a national federation of state Farmers Union organizations in the United States. The organization was founded in 1902 in Point, Texas, and is headquartered in Washington, D.C.. The organization was created to protect and enhance the economic well-being and quality of life for family farmers, ranchers, and their rural communities by promoting legislation and education beneficial to farmers, and developing cooperative buying and selling methods and businesses. NFU advocates for the sustainable production of food, fiber, feed, and fuel. The current president is Rob Larew, and the vice president is Jeff Kippley. Former NFU Presidents have included Roger Johnson, Tom Buis, and David Frederickson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Bourne</span> Welsh Conservative politician

Nicholas Henry Bourne, Baron Bourne of Aberystwyth is a Conservative Party politician who served as Leader of the Welsh Conservative Party and Member of the Senedd for Mid and West Wales from August 1999 until May 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NFU Mutual</span> British mutual insurance company

NFU Mutual is a UK insurance composite. As a mutual, its policyholder members own the business, and the executives and directors are accountable to them. The full name of the organisation is National Farmers' Union Mutual Insurance Society Limited.

The National Farmers' Union of Scotland is an organisation that promotes and protects the interests of the country's farming industry. It was formed in 1913, and has approximately 10,000 members who are farmers, crofters and others involved in Scottish agriculture.

The National Farmers Union' (NFU) is one of Fiji's largest trade unions. It was launched in Labasa in July 1978 under the auspices of the Fiji Trades Union Congress, with Mahendra Chaudhry as its first General Secretary. The union was initially based in Vanua Levu but gradually extended its operations to Viti Levu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew RT Davies</span> Leader of the Welsh Conservatives

Andrew RT Davies CBE is a Welsh politician serving as Leader of the Welsh Conservative Group in the Senedd since 2021, previously holding the position from 2011 to 2018. He has been a Member of the Senedd (MS) since 2007.

The 1945 Neath by-election was a parliamentary by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Neath in South Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Hart</span> British politician (born 1963)

Simon Anthony Hart is a British politician serving as the Chief Whip of the House of Commons and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury since October 2022. He previously served as Secretary of State for Wales in the Johnson government from 2019 to 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire since 2010.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW), a member organisation, was formed in 1955 to protect and advance the interests of those who derive an income from Welsh agriculture.

The British Guild of Agricultural Journalists is a membership organisation representing editors and journalists, broadcasters, photographers, public relations and marketing specialists working in agriculture, commercial horticulture and other rural industries in the United Kingdom.

The Conservative Women's Organisation (CWO) represents the female members of the Conservative Party in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Labour Representation Committee (1900)</span> British Labour Party foundation

The Labour Representation Committee (LRC) was a pressure group founded in 1900 as an alliance of socialist organisations and trade unions, aimed at increasing representation for labour interests in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Labour Party traces its origin to the LRC's foundation.

Philip Pedley is a British Conservative activist who held a number of positions in the Conservative Party at local, regional and national level and was appointed Deputy Chairman of one of the largest quangos in Wales.

Rowland Richard Robbins (1872–1960) was an English farmer, known for market gardening on a large scale, and also for involvement in farming affairs at a national level.

Minette Bridget Batters is a British farmer who was the President of the National Farmers' Union of England and Wales from 2018 until 2024.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Craig, F. W. S. (1975). Minor Parties in British By-elections, 1885-1974. London: Macmillan Press. p. 56.
  2. ↑ "NFU elects first female president". BBC News. 21 February 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  3. ↑ "About Us". NFU. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  4. ↑ "NFU Democratic Structure". NFUonline. NFU. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  5. ↑ Chris Cook, The Routledge Guide to British Political Archives: Sources Since 1945 (Routledge: 2006), p. 345.
  6. ↑ "National Farmers' Union". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.