Rishi Sunak has got the farming industry’s back -and he’s stabbed them in it

The first rule of speech-making, is that if you are expecting an ice-cold reception, waste your first couple of minutes praising your host. Then you get to pretend their applause is for you.

Rishi Sunak is a useless prime minister, but even he knows that one. So he started his speech to the National Farmers Union conference by praising the outgoing president of the NFU, Minette Batters – a leader who has spent much of her six years in charge pointing out the severe damage of Brexit, a policy he supported, has wreaked upon her members.

After that it was pretty much downhill all the way, for the next five minutes or so. Which is all the PM had time for, or perhaps all the time he managed to stretch the weak-as–onion-water policies he announced. Since none of them involved any new money, we can assume quite safely they will make no difference to anyone.

Some, like the announcement on investing in farming, which apparently means “we promise to spend the £2.4 billion agriculture budget on you”, were just embarrassing. Who else the government’s farming subsidies were going to be given to but to farmers it is impossible to say. Were they planning to give the agriculture money to the police, the army or the winner of The Traitors? Were they planning to give it to lingerie magnates, or landlords of their local pubs (don’t answer that)? Were they planning to hold some of it back? Was it a lie? A fake figure?

Well, now the farmers can rest assured that the government is spending the money where it was always going to go.

There were also nice warm words about new schemes and projects to have robots shovel manure or some such. But not a penny of new money. So, nothing to announce and no changes to policy for an industry which says “it is in crisis”.

After that it was oleaginous platitude after oleaginous platitude from the PM.

“We have a plan”

“Food security is a vital part of our national security”

“You can trust us”

“I’ve got your back”

That was it, really. Yet, as Minette Batters and many other members of the NFU know full well, there is no plan. Food production and security is not part of the new farming regime, they have been betrayed by the government and the prime minister does not have the farmers’ backs.

The first question from the conference floor was quite rightly, about the cost of trade with the EU. What plans does the government have to break down these barriers and manage regulatory divergence, especially SPS (food and veterinary standards)?

“We are working with individual countries to make things better,” said the PM, citing examples; more swedes sold in Sweden, that kind of thing. He omitted somehow to mention that the rules are introduced, controlled and regulated by the European Commission, rather than the Swedes. It was all pretty disingenuous, and speaking to the EC might be a start.

But then the prime minister cannot be seen to talk to the European Commission, he cannot copy EU standards, he cannot find that extra money for farming that was promised by the Brexit campaigners, he cannot reform the new subsidies system to encourage production.

Yes, Rishi Sunak has the farming industry’s back… and they can feel the knife sliding between their ribs.