Shadow farming minister Robbie Moore has warned that farmers could be next following the governments ‘first assault’ on pensioners.

The MP for Keighley and Ilkley queried the decision to put Steve Reed, a parliamentary representative for the highly metropolitan constituency Streatham and Croydon North, in charge of rural matters.

Mr Moore was highly critical of the new Defra secretary in an article he wrote for The Express, he stated: “The Secretary of State has been too weak to stand up to Treasury officials and the entire department seems like it has been at a standstill for the last four months.

“Key funds such as the £50m Farm Recovery Fund have not yet been distributed and just a fraction of the £75m ring-fenced for internal drainage boards has been issued – despite these funds being allocated to farmers most impacted by wet weather earlier this year.

“£220 million for farm innovation and productivity grants has not been re-committed by the new government. And now, there are growing concerns that the farming budget is about to be slashed, leaving farmers across our nation facing a cliff edge.”

Pointing to Labour’s minimal focus on farming in its manifesto, he noted that the inclusion of just 87 words on the new government’s farming plan starkly contrasts with that of the previous administration.

Calling back to the introduction of the food security index and annual food report which looked to establish “legally binding targets” to boost food security he claimed that the Conservative government were more open with farming businesses.

Mr Moore questioned the lack of engagement by the new government with those in the sector, suggesting the rumour of two major budget cuts could be the cause of their apprehension. He said: “As it stands, Steve Reed’s department is hinting at two disastrous moves for farmers. First, quietly forgetting about the farming support schemes allocated by the previous government, which would see crucial funding pulled.

“And second, cutting the baseline farming budget by £100 million, which I personally fear could be much more. This is a cut British farmers cannot afford.”

Like many within the sector, Mr Moore is wary of adding additional financial constraints to an industry that is already being spread thinly, purporting that any unspent capital should be kept within department and not returned to the treasury, as he suspects Labour may do.

He called on the current Defra secretary to vehemently defend his departments interests within the cabinet to avoid “being viewed as the weak link at the cabinet table.”

Sending a petition to the current Defra secretary Mr Moore said: “Farmers are friendly people, they’re happy to muck in and knuckle down when things get tough. But they can also see when they are being taken off the agenda and taken for granted.

“Ahead of the budget, my message to the Defra Secretary is clear: pick up the phone, speak to the Chancellor, back British farming, and fight for the farming budget in full.”