Norfolk County Council has voted overwhelmingly to call on the government to close a loophole in food labelling rules that allows products grown abroad but packaged in the UK to display the Union Flag or be marketed as British.

The motion, proposed by Cllr Brian Long and seconded by Cllr Barry Stone, passed by 40 votes to 1 with 11 abstentions at the full council meeting on 24 March 2026.

The council noted that Norfolk is one of the UK's most important agricultural counties, producing a significant share of the nation's cereals, vegetables and poultry, and argued that current labelling rules risk misleading consumers and unfairly undercutting local farmers.

As a result of the vote, the Leader of the Council will write to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs urging the government to introduce stricter country-of-origin labelling rules. The letter will also call on ministers to work with farmers and rural communities to protect British food production and the future of family farms.

Two amendments were put forward during the debate but both were rejected. An amendment from Cllr Saul Penfold, which proposed directing large-scale solar developments to rooftops and brownfield sites first rather than farmland, was lost by 36 votes to 9. A separate amendment from Cllr Catherine Rowett, which raised concerns about post-Brexit trade deals and encouraged community energy schemes on farms, was lost by 35 votes to 7.

The motion also noted concern over the Labour government's proposed changes to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief, describing them as a "family farm tax" that risks placing further strain on family businesses across rural Norfolk.