Disillusionment down on the farm Tories face defeat in their traditional rural heartlands

Since I first voted for Thatcher in 1979, I've always gone Conservative," says the Hertfordshire farmer Andrew Watts - a longer period than the three decades he has managed his cereal farm near the village of Puckeridge.

- Jack Simpson

But when he enters the polling booth on 4 July, the 64-year-old will back the Liberal Democrats.

Watts says the switch is partially down to what he calls a "lack of coherent agricultural policy" from Westminster but mainly blames it on a loss of integrity within the Tories in recent years.

"I think their policies have ignored rural areas, and ignored the importance of food production," he says. "The performance since Brexit has shown that this government cannot be trusted."

Watts's frustrations tally with those of a growing number of English farmers, whose disillusionment could overturn the Conservatives' claim to be the party of the countryside.

Whether it is the international trade deals that have removed tariffs on most meat imported from Australia and New Zealand that many feel have undercut domestic livestock farmers, or delays to post-Brexit payment schemes, which have left many struggling financially, its traditional farming electorate in England is feeling taken for granted.

"No industry, no part of British society, has been more betrayed or let down by the Conservative government than farming," says Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrat environment, food and rural affairs spokesperson. "I spend a lot of time with farmers, you see deep anger." The polling supports that claim, with a YouGov poll this week suggesting Rishi Sunak's party could haemorrhage rural voters.