The new Weald of Kent constituency’s agricultural sector should be a mainstay of the traditional Conservative vote at the general election on July 4.

But as local democracy reporter Simon Finlay discovered, Tory support is not a given as supporters look to the future under a new government…

The view across the Weald from Sutton Valence is a sight to behold on a summer’s day.

Lying between the North and South Downs, from up here it is a baize of farmland, hamlets, medieval churches and old oast houses.

Coppiced woods punctuate the hedgerow-lined fields, where the weather-battered wheat is last on the turn.

This is what King Henry VIII is reputed to have termed the ‘Garden of England’ for its rich harvest of fruit, vegetables and hops.

As high summer beckons, the apple trees are heavy with fruit in the orchards and cherry and berry picking is already well under way.

The Weald is largely affluent. Houses are worth a lot more than the national average and folk here are likely to be a bit older.

But who harrows the fields, sprays the crops or brings the cows in for milking? Who picks the fruit or shears the sheep?

A sector sometimes misunderstood and often forgotten, it is agriculture that shapes the countryside.

Many agricultural workers work very long hours for low pay - a hand picks up around £23,000 a year - and are at the mercy of increasingly erratic weather and economic uncertainty.

The post-Brexit labour market, policy changes, financial volatility and inflation are hitting farming hard.

The newly-formed Weald of Kent constituency is electing its first MP on July 4, and few pollsters believe the Conservatives will not win here.

Composed mainly of large rural chunks of Conservative Damian Green’s old Ashford seat and the moneyed end of fellow Tory Helen Grant’s now-defunct Maidstone and the Weald constituency, it is vast by any standards.

But it is the farming folk - a mainstay of the Tory vote throughout history - who may be the hardest to win round this time.

If ever there was a hurdle in the way, it is the likes of Claire Eckley who runs an arable farm with husband Guy at Staplehurst.

The couple and the team grow wheat, rapeseed and beans among others at their award-winning farm using regenerative farming methods.

They qualify for post-Brexit grants through the government sustainable farming incentive (SFI) scheme but are worried Labour has not yet committed to a spending pledge on it.

Claire remains calculating in how she might vote.

“I am a floating voter,” she explains, “While I am unsure that Labour would commit to the SFI I would rather we had an MP who had access to the ministers in the future.”

So what issues are key to her?

“Rural crime - I do not know a single farmer who has not been a victim of petty theft. As well as that, it's mostly fly-tipping, sheep worrying, intentional or otherwise, and hare coursing.”

Paul and Anca Haralambie are unlikely first time voters. Aged 39 and 41 respectively, the Romanians only gained British citizenship in 2022.

July 4 will be their first general election, although their connection to the UK stretches back almost 20 years when they first arrived to pick asparagus.

They settled in Kent in 2008 and lived and worked on Loddington Farm at Linton for some years before branching out on their own.

The Haralambies have two primary school age children and live in a smart house in Maidstone.

Mr Haralambie runs an agency providing workers from Eastern Europe to work on the local fruit farms. That supply chain was all but cut off, post-Brexit, and he now concentrates his time finding quality workers for the burgeoning English vineyard sector from those who chose to stay on in the UK.

His wife is a bio-scientist who is struggling to get support to develop a product which can destroy pathogens in strawberry tunnels in an eco-friendly way, using only water, salt and electrolysis. Mrs Haralambie believes that her bio-cide business, Aridom Sanex, can help improve fruit yields and lengthen shelf-life.

It’s been tough going for entrepreneurs since the UK’s exit from the EU.

When their mortgage recently rocketed, they had to return to the fields a few days a week to get by.

“When we came here first in 2005, it was like ‘Wow, what a country - all these opportunities to make a good life’. We’re from a poor country,” says Mr Haralambie.

“But once you live here, get a mortgage and children, it’s very hard. And it’s getting harder. We’re struggling.”

The couple both agree Britain has “really gone downhill in recent years” and see their long-term future in Italy or Spain.

Mr Haralambie sighs: “Brexit has been a disaster and let down a lot of people. I saw the chance to expand the business by bringing in more and better people from Romania to work on the farms in Kent but that’s all gone.”

So, how will they vote in their first election? They’re not much impressed with the choice but they want a “change” and will most likely vote Labour.

Owner and founder of the Balfour Winery, near Staplehurst, Richard Balfour-Lynn, has overseen one of the county’s incredible success stories.

Started as a hobby vineyard 22 years ago when Mr Balfour-Lynn decided to wind down his long and varied business career, his award-winning wines are now sold across the world and the viniculture admired just as widely.

He is a natural Conservative but watches in despair the state of world politics, not least in France, the United States and Germany.

Mr Balfour-Lynn says: “Confidence in politics worldwide is at an all-time low. Would you want to be a politician? I wouldn’t. Unfortunately, social media has made life impossible for them.

“As for the general election, it is an incredibly difficult decision. I would normally be a Conservative. But they have been in for a long time and maybe it’s time for a change.”

Mr Balfour-Lynn does not trust the Labour Party and is not convinced by Reform UK or the Liberal Democrats.

He adds wearily: “So, I can’t tell you because I just don’t know. Economically, the Tories have been dealt a difficult hand but they’ve brought inflation down and have the right idea about taxation. They seem to have a plan for immigration.

“But I think people in this country want change. It’s a very difficult time.”

Christmas tree grower Rob Schroeder, who has business interests just inside the boundary of the Weald of Kent constituency, owns 120 acres of land.

He can offer subsidised accommodation onsite to some of his younger workers while offering them the going rate of pay.

Mr Schroeder, a lifelong Conservative member, suspects his youthful workforce are overwhelmed by indifference at the thought of a general election.

“I doubt if any of the young ones will bother to vote and I can’t say I blame them,” he says wearily.

Mr Schroeder will be voting for Reform UK.

He adds: “I haven’t left the Conservative Party, the Conservative Party left me. I’m a right winger but this party doesn’t appear to know what it is. It has totally lost its way.”

He is clear what holds his business back - labour costs, inflationary pressures, paperwork and taxes. And he predicts life could get even tougher under Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party.

Mr Schroeder says that less than 1% of gross domestic product (GDP) comes from farming in this country.

“Why would the government worry about farmers when the City of London generates 30% of GDP?”

The government must concentrate on growing food at home, not import products, he says.

“They’re forever telling us to grow trees and rewild meadows. But you can't eat a tree, can you? If you import the food, you export the problem.”

The sentiment is echoed by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) President Tom Bradshaw, who says: “We have the perfect climate for producing food, but we cannot do it with one hand tied behind our backs, competing with countries that have lower standards.

“People don't eat butterflies for breakfast.”

The respected Country Land and Business Association (CLA) carried out a survey shortly before Prime Minister Rishi Sunak went to the country.

The poll, carried out by Survation, showed the scale of the problem - a 25% collapse in Conservative support in the rural heartlands.

CLA polled more than 1,000 people in England’s most rural constituencies revealing Labour’s share jumped by 17% to 37%, with the Tories slumping to 34%.

In a remarkable turnaround, respondents believe Labour understands and respects rural communities better than the Tories.

But, worryingly for both, when asked which political party is most trusted to stimulate economic growth, the biggest group (35%) said “don’t know”.

Mr Bradshaw, stating the farming vote is “still up for grabs”, adds: “Confidence from our members at the moment is at an all-time low across the country and there’s no wonder why farmers are questioning how viable their futures are.”

“They’re forever telling us to grow trees and rewild meadows. But you can't eat a tree, can you? If you import the food, you export the problem.”

Suicides have always been a problem in farming. According to one local source, a small geographical area in the Weald of Kent a couple of years ago suffered the loss of three young men in as many months but the reasons are not entirely clear.

What is apparent, however, is the link between mental ill-health in farming communities and suicides among younger males.

Written evidence to the UK Parliament from the University of Oxford show farmers and agricultural workers are at the mercy of lone working, poor pay, long hours, living at work and lack of sleep.

Climate change has ensured that seasons are now so variable and unpredictable farmers cannot rely on the British weather in the way they once did. Crops fail or become unprofitable to plant.

The Oxford study acknowledges there is a higher risk of suicide linked to mental ill-health in farming but that the driving factors vary depending on age, gender, sexuality, and income.

The study’s author states: “Rural isolation, stigma, and lack of awareness can prevent farmers from seeking help. However, there is evidence that farmers trust fellow farmers.”

Post-Brexit, policy and paperwork changes have contributed to stress, even though farmers rely on the payments they can provide. Studies found that up to 62% of farmers struggled with paperwork and nearly as many had trouble understanding the forms.

On smaller farms, it is the wife who looks after the admin unpaid, while often looking after a family and holding down an outside job.

Sitting in his kitchen with a copy of the Daily Telegraph draped over the back of a chair, Mr Schroeder reflects: “Farming is hard and dirty work but it’s a way of life. Not many farmers make a lot of money but it’s a nice enough lifestyle. Very few in Westminster have ever had a real job so why would they get what we do?

“Nobody could afford to buy a farm these days and make money - they’d go bust in no time.”

The candidates standing in the Weald of Kent seat are: John Howson (Lib Dem), Daniel Kersten (Reform UK), Katie Lam (Con), Lenny Rolles (Lab) and Kate Walder (Green Party).