Honiton and Sidmouth Conservatives have launched their first major policy campaign of 2026 on farming, energy and the environment, following the failure of the area’s Liberal Democrat MP Richard Foord to support Devon’s farmers in a crucial parliamentary vote.
The campaign focuses on the Family Farms Tax, proposals for large-scale solar farms on productive agricultural land, Net Zero, and failure to address local concerns by Liberal Democrat-led Devon County Council.
Farming: Standing Up for Devon’s Family Farms
The campaign followed a key vote in Parliament on 7 January 2026, when the Liberal Democrat MP for Honiton and Sidmouth, Richard Foord, failed to support a Conservative Opposition Day motion to scrap Labour’s Family Farms Tax in full. The motion followed months of Conservative campaigning that had already forced Labour into a partial U-turn on the policy.
The vote was vital for rural communities like East Devon, where farming underpins the local economy, jobs and community life. Conservatives voted to scrap the tax outright. Labour voted against it. Every Liberal Democrat MP abstained, including Richard Foord.
Local Conservatives say the abstention represents a betrayal of Devon’s farming communities and threatens family farms that have been passed down through generations, putting livelihoods, food security and the future of generational farming at risk.
Dylan Burtoft, Division Organiser for the Blackdown Hills, said:
“Farmers know this vote mattered. When rural Devon needed a voice in Parliament, Richard Foord failed to act. Conservatives stood up for British agriculture, Labour voted against farmers, and the Liberal Democrats sat on their hands.”
Energy: Opposing Industrial Solar on Productive Farmland
People are deeply concerned about Labour’s plans to force industrial-scale solar farms onto productive agricultural grade land.
We support renewable energy, but industrial solar farms on productive farmland threaten farmers, local economies, and rural communities. Energy should go on rooftops, brownfield sites, or car parks, not at the expense of working farms.
Local Conservatives are backing local action, including opposition to the proposed 147-acre solar farm in Talaton.
Local Conservatives also criticised Richard Foord for refusing to take a clear position on major solar farm proposals affecting the constituency. Despite growing opposition to large-scale developments on productive farmland, the Liberal Democrat MP has failed to say whether he supports or opposes schemes such as the proposed Talaton solar farm, leaving residents and farmers without representation on an issue that will permanently alter the local landscape.
Environment and Net Zero: Practical and Realistic
Residents have raised concerns about Labour’s rushed Net Zero agenda and its potential impact on farming, energy bills and the countryside.
Honiton and Sidmouth Conservatives say environmental progress must be practical and realistic, supporting regenerative farming, food security and renewable energy in the right places – such as rooftops, brownfield and industrial sites – not productive farmland.
Continuing the Policy Campaign
Over the coming weeks, local Conservatives will continue campaigning across Honiton and Sidmouth, holding the Liberal Democrats to account and speaking with residents about the issues affecting rural Devon.
