After many declaring that they were fed up with the Conservatives, the majority of farmers stayed close to their traditional allegiance and voted for the Tories in the 2024 general elecion after all, according to a survey conducted by Farmers Weekly. (N = 767, 'strong spread by region and farm type', but owner-occupiers may be over represented. Self-selected sample).
Prospective voting surveys showed farmer support for the Conservatives decline from 72 per cent in 2020 to just over 40 per cent in 2024 before the general election.
In the event 57 per cent voted Conservative, while 15 per cent opted for Reform. Despite the success of the Liberal Democrats in rural constituencies, only 8 per cent voted for them. 4 per cent voted for other (probably mainly the Plaid and the Scottish Nationalists). Just 4 per cent voted for Labour with the balance made up by non voters and 'prefer not to say'.
