Wednesday Meeting with local Farmers

On Wednesday aftenoon I met with some local farmers to discuss Conservative Party policies and especially those related to agriculture and the countryside. The meeting was arranged by Andrew Redfern the senior group secretary of the NFU and was kindly hosted by Mr David Rhodes of Home Farm Long Whatton.

The discussion included talking about the fact that 15 percent of farm households in england were in poverty at the last count according to official figures obtained by the Conservatives.

There are few more important industries than the production of food, but these figures show how tough life is for farmers. Despite welcome increases in income many farm businesses are barely breaking even as the costs and regulatory burdens imposed by Governmnet increase. As a result thousands of farmers have quit the industry, weakening our supply base and leaving us more reliant on imports of food that we could produce ourselves. Our agricultural industry is a national asset but too often under the current Governmnet farmers have been undermined.

Whitehall must source more British Food

Nick Herbert has pledged that if Conservatives are elected to Government they will require all Governmnet departments to ensure the food they serve meets British standards of production. The Government must take a lead by example to boost sustainable food courcing in the UK. Every year the public sector spends over £2 billion on food, currently under Labour barely half food the treasury buys is from our own production.

Consevative plans Rural action

A conservative government will breath new life into the countryside Our Rural agenda will:

• Respect rural people by giving rural communities a voice to decide their own future and only seek to regulate where self-regulation fails.
• Give power to rural communities by shifting power and decision-making to communities, so that people have a genuine say over the matters that affect them locally.
• Protect rural services by considering social value alongside environmental and economic value. We will address the lack of affordable housing through growth which reflects the wishes of local communities and also help rural communities protect the countryside they cherish from development by central government.
• We will revive the rural economy, by reducing the barriers to business growth and creating incentives for rural development.

Farming policy

Rural communities need a thriving farming industry, but Britain`s farmers have endured a tough time, faced with animal diseases and excessive regulation. They need a Government which will work with them not agianst them, so we will

• Overhaul farming regulations to lift the burden of unnecessary paperwork and inspections.
• Press for reforms of the Common agricultural Policy which reflect the importance we attach to the long term sustainablity of UK farming.
• Make it easier to buy British produce by improving food labelling with our Honest Food Campaign.
• Use public procurement to strengthen the link between food grown in our fields and the meals served in our schools and hospitals.                                     

                                                                        
This cooperation will be crucial in tackling the threats to our food security and it will help to rebuild the bond of trust between rural communities and the government.

Further the Conservatives have pledged to introduce a Supermarket Ombudsman to protect farmers. The ombudsman will be charged with powers to prevent leading retailers from using their size and influence to squeeze the profit margins of farmers and other suppliers.

This special help for agriculture is on top of measures we will introduce to encourage all businesses to thrive and grow, ultimately for the benefit of everyone in our society.