A Cabinet reshuffle has resulted in changes to the ministerial team at a crucial time for food, nature and environment regulations. By David Burrows.
Emma Reynolds is the new secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs following Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s enforced mini reshuffle last week. Angela Rayner, the housing secretary resigned following a political scandal over tax, with former Defra secretary of state Steve Reed taking her place. Daniel Zeichner, the minister for food security and rural affairs, has also been sacked, with veteran Labour MP Dame Angela Eagle replacing him.
“Delighted to be appointed to the Cabinet as secretary of state for Defra and look forward to building on the excellent work of Steve Reed – cleaning up our rivers, backing British farming and ensuring nature’s recovery,” Reynolds posted on social media platform, X.
She certainly has a hefty ‘to-do’ list. Creating a new water regulator and adding flesh to a new food strategy are among the top ones. Relationships with farmers are also hanging by a thread following not only the inheritance tax backlash but also the sudden closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive earlier this year.
“Despite not always agreeing, we developed a strong working relationship and his [Reed’s] door was always open to [us],” said NFU president Tom Bradshaw. “He recognised the planning system needed significant change to enable investment in the farm infrastructure of the future,” he added.
Bradshaw met Reynolds – whose background in agriculture is reportedly limited – on Monday. The meeting covered a variety of issues, including the impact of the inheritance tax proposals on family farms, continued uncertainty over agri-environment schemes, and the cumulative impact of trade deals including the recent US deal and the upcoming GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) deal, the NFU reported.
Bradshaw said the meeting was “positive’ and he is “hopeful” that Reynolds’ economic background – she was previously economic secretary to the Treasury, and has been parliamentary secretary at both the Treasury and the Department of Work and Pensions – would help drive the investment required to “produce more food, do more for the environment and grow [farm] businesses”.
Under pressure
Farmers are also on the frontline of a changing climate: one of the driest springs has been followed by the hottest ever summer, causing chaos for producers and concerns over worsening harvest forecasts. The British countryside is under “immense pressure”, noted Alasdair Johnstone from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit this week. So too is Reynolds and her new minister.
Eagle’s role is yet to be confirmed but is likely to involve taking charge of the food strategy, for which Zeichner was the ministerial lead. The Defra website showed other members of the senior team have maintained their roles and responsibilities. Mary Creagh will therefore keep working on the circular economy and packaging reforms, for example.
Reed rarely got involved in the day to day of packaging policy paraphernalia, though he did in March set out his ambitions for a circular economy. This included (finally) the start of extended producer responsibility for packaging (pEPR), simpler recycling rules and a commitment to (finally) get a deposit return scheme (DRS) up and running in 2027.
“Our reforms are giving them the confidence to invest £10bn in the UK’s recycling infrastructure over the next decade, creating over 21,000 jobs right across the country,” Reed said at the time.
However, confidence is dwindling as plastic recycling plants continue to close. Sites are closing because “there isn’t a level playing field for these [recycled] materials”, explained Roger Wright, waste strategy and packaging manager at Biffa, the resource company that closed its £7m site in Tyne and Wear “because of weak market demand for recycled plastic”.
Higher costs are partly to blame, but so too are delays to all those promised policies (something which Defra, when asked last week, failed to recognise). Food and drink companies are also scaling back on their targets relating to recycled content as voluntary agreements like the Plastics Pact come to an end and the premium for the materials grows.
Retaining the expertise and experience of Creagh within Defra’s ministerial team brings much welcomed continuity to the department’s leadership, according to industry experts and representatives.
Reynolds will no doubt see Defra as a stepping stone to bigger jobs. But this is a crucial time for the department with some of the most high profile policies going. Success in pushing these forward will be a win for Reynolds, a win for green jobs, and a win for the environment.
