Montgomeryshire candidates meet farming chiefs

Liberal Democrat Jane Dodds, Des Parkinson for Ukip, Conservative Glyn Davies, who is standing for re-election, Ann Griffith from Plaid Cymru, Green candidate Richard Chaloner and Martyn Singleton from Labour all took part in a hustings meeting at the farm of FUW member Peter Roberts in Forden, near Welshpool, last Friday.

The six candidates met at Mr Roberts's Pen Y Derw farm where they set out what they are standing for and what they would do to help the farming community.

Emyr Jones, president of the FUW, said: "Since the last general election took place at the height of the financial crisis, we have seen numerous positive developments in terms of recovery, but widespread debate continues about where best to strike the balance between paying off the national deficit, ensuring economic growth and protecting vital services.

"Meanwhile, over the past five years the political landscape has changed beyond recognition – both domestically, in terms of the growing power of smaller parties and the prospect of our departure from the EU, and globally, with the return of cold-war-style politics and the rise of an Islamic extremist state.

"While the impact of the financial crisis on our economy as a whole has been severe, there can be no doubt that in rural Britain and many of our urban areas the effect has been buffered by the core role agriculture has played in generating income for communities the length and breadth of the UK. Put simply, agriculture is the powerhouse of the rural economy, generating billions of pounds which benefit a host of industries, including many not directly associated with agriculture."

* The six candidates will take part in a last minute hustings at Welshpool Town Hall on Wednesday at 7pm.

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