General Election - how the key players got on

Labour Ministers

Hilary Benn, (Labour, Leeds Central) – WON. The Defra Secretary of the past three years comfortably held his seat despite a 10 per cent fall in his share of the vote on 2005.

Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour, Poplar and Poplar & Limehouse) – WON. The Farming Minister was expected to face a tough challenge from the Tories. Amid the drama of a delayed count, he ended up holding his seat easily, with 40 per cent of the vote and a small swing in his favour. Respect’s George Galloway trailed in third.  

Dan Norris (Labour, Somerset North East) – LOST. The junior Defra Minister lost out to the Conservative Jacob Rees-Mogg in a newly created seat.

Shadow Conservative team

Jim Paice (Conservative, South East Cambridge) – WON. The man most likely to become Farming Minister, if David Cameron has anything to do with it, retained his seat with 48 per cent of the vote, despite a 3 per cent swing to the Lib Dems.

Nick Herbert (Conservative, Arundel and South Downs) – WON. The Shadow Defra Secretary desperately wants the real job after an emphatic win in this safe Tory seat

Shadow Lib Dem team

Roger Williams (Liberal Democrat, Brecon and Radnor) – WON. The Lib Dem agriculture spokesman, member of the Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee and farmer held off a strong challenge from the Tories to win with 46 per cent of the vote.

Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat, Westmorland and Lonsdale) - WON. An incredible result. Defending a wafer thin majority against the Tories, the Lib Dem Shadow Defra Secretary managed to increase has margin to over 12,000 with an 11 per cent swing in his favour. The hill farming vote surely a factor.

Tory newcomers

Simon Hart (Conservative, Carmarthen West) – WON. The Countryside Alliance chief executive will be keen to reverse the hunting ban after he overturned a Labour majority to enter parliament for the first time.

Neil Parish (Conservative, Tiverton and Honiton) – WON. After 10 years as the Tory agriculture spokesman in the European Parliament, Mr Parish will bring his expertise to Westminster after winning a comfortable seat in Devon with 50.3 per cent of the vote. A future Farming Minister?

Zac Goldsmith  (Conservative, Richmond Park) – WON. The millionaire environmentalist gained a seat from the Lib Dems in a tight race with a 7 per cent swing in his favour. The man who once campaigned for a ‘Better NFU’ and has helped develop Tory environmental policy will surely become an influential figure in years to come.

One that got away

Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones (Conservative, Chippenham) – LOST. The founder of The Black Farmer range of food products lost a desperately close battle after the Lib Dems beat him by 2,500 votes

The first Green MP

Caroline Lucas (Green, Brighton pavilion) – WON. She becomes the first Green MP, gaining a Labour seat after a three-way battle with Labour and Tories.

Former Ministers

Margaret Beckett (Labour, Derby South) – WON. The much loved former Defra Secretary comfortably held on despite a 10 per cent drop in her share of the vote.

Ben Bradshaw (Labour, Exeter) – WON. The former Defra Minister and, most recently Culture Secretary, held on to a seat some expected him to lose with a majority of nearly 3,000 over his Tory challenger.

David Miliband (Labour, South Shields) – WON. The Foreign Secretary and one-time Defra Secretary comfortably defended his seat.

Nick Brown (Labour, Newcastle East) – WON. The former Agriculture Minister’s seat was heavily targeted by the Lib Dems. In the end, he held on comfortably with 45 per cent of the vote.

Agricultural figures standing down

Michael Jack (Conservative, Fylde) former Shadow Agriculture Minister , and outgoing chairman of the influential Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Jane Kennedy (Labour, Liverpool Wavertree) Became Agriculture Minister in 2007 but resigned her position in June 2009 in protest at Gordon Browns Leadership

Elliot Morley (Labour, Scunthorpe) Fisheries Minister 1997-2003 then Environment Minister until he left Government in the May 2006 reshuffle. Was caught up in the expenses scandal

John Gummer (Conservative, Suffolk Coastal) Minister of Agriculture 1989-1993 then Environment Secretary 1993-1997

Peter Ainsworth (Conservative, East Surrey) Shadow Defra Secretary 2005-2009

Have your say

Please do not complete the following form field for security reasons.

Name

E-mail

Comment

Post as

Anonymously

Display name