𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Sheep shearers on temporary work visas will be allowed into the country after rural campaigners pressured the Government into the move. It followed agricultural sector fears of a shortage this year, which could mean several million sheep going unshorn this summer.

The Home Office said it would grant an “exceptional” concession for a further year, but warned it would not be renewed again. Welcoming the move on Wednesday, Victoria Atkins, the Shadow Environment Secretary, said: “The decision today is yet another welcome U-turn by a Labour Government that simply doesn’t understand the countryside or farming communities.”

Ms Atkins met farmers and the National Sheep Association (NSA) before writing to the Home Office three weeks ago to make the case for the exception.

Critics of the restriction said that failing to shear sheep in time leads to welfare concerns, including heat stress and insects bothering the animals.

But Ms Atkins said she was”shocked” that the Defra Secretary had been “silent on this issue and … failed to alert her colleague, the Home Secretary, to the vital work that these shearers do before the original decision was taken”.

NSA chief executive Phil Stocker said the UK has “long relied on a small global community of shearers”, adding that the association would continue to identify new solutions in future.

Migration and citizenship minister Mike Tapp said the sector had already made significant moves to provide skill training for British workers to become shearers.

However, he added: “I hope that one further year of these efforts will enable the sector to secure a sufficient supply of resident sharers to allow it to move away from reliance on migrant labour.”

Defra did not respond to requests for comment, and instead pointed to the Home Office as the lead department in this case.

Conservative officials suggested this was the latest U-turn from Labour, who have seen a string of changing policy positions since they came into office in 2024.

In a video posted online, Ms Atkins branded the move a “ewe-turn” and said it would be welcome news for shepherds across the UK.