Ministers ‘asleep at wheel’ on bluetongue
The Liberal Democrats are calling for an emergency bluetongue taskforce to be set up to secure vaccines and get them to farms as cases of the disease spread among UK livestock.
Modelled on the Covid vaccine taskforce, it should speed up procurement of jabs and and coordinate targeted rollouts in far-flung areas, the party said.
There have been 795 bluetongue cases recorded across England, Scotland and Wales during the 2026/27 season.
The disease affects ruminant livestock such as sheep and cows and can be fatal.
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said: “British farmers are facing a terrible perfect storm this year. The bluetongue outbreak is devastating our livestock sector, yet farmers are being left to navigate this crisis without the fundamental backing of their own government. We need a bluetongue taskforce in place immediately.”
Sir Ed also repeated the Lib Dems’ plea for a £1 billion cash injection for UK agriculture to boost food security.
“It is frankly an outrage that England is the only country in Europe where the farm payments system fails to support food production. My party would solve this by committing an additional £1 billion funding for farmers,” Sir Ed said.
The Tory party has accused ministers of being “asleep at the wheel” amid the spread of bluetongue cases.
Environment minister Stephen Morgan said his message to farmers was to “remain vigilant, monitor your animals closely and take up the vaccine”, as he responded to MPs.
Shadow environment minister Robbie Moore warned of inadequate vaccine supplies during an urgent question in the Commons.
He said: “Bluetongue is spreading across Britain at an unprecedented rate, devastating livestock businesses and putting farming families under immense financial and emotional pressure.”
He added: “Ministers rightly advise farmers to vaccinate livestock, but livestock supplies can take up to three to four weeks to arrive.
“So why has the government not acted to secure adequate vaccine supplies, working more closely with vaccine manufacturers, veterinary bodies and industry?”
Mr Moore urged the government to “confirm financial assistance will be put in place”, concluding: “It seems that despite concerns being consistently raised throughout summer, ministers have been asleep at the wheel.”
In his response, Mr Morgan said the government “has acted quickly to secure increased vaccine supply”.