Shropshire Farming Talk: Work to be done politically
Rural areas, like Shropshire, look set to play a key part in the forthcoming General Election.
Polling shows the rural and farming vote will be significant.
The NFU always aims to hold politicians to account and it is essential that all parties develop sound policy on which to be judged.
As a result, we have finalised our ‘Farming for Britain’s Future’ manifesto with four key themes.
‘Farming for Britain’s Food’, which asks for a clear commitment to a specific budget that underpins sustainable domestic food production, delivers for the environment and supports all land tenures.
‘Farming for a global Britain’ that asks for an annual assessment of the impact of our free trade agreements (FTAs) on domestic food production and consumption to provide a clear picture of the cumulative impact of FTAs as they come into effect, adapting domestic agriculture policy accordingly.
In addition, ‘Farming for Britain’s environment’ focuses on a range of policy asks, incentives and investment to support farming, delivering on the legislated Environment Improvement Plan.
Finally, ‘Farming for Britain’s communities’, includes a minimum ask of a five-year rolling seasonal workers’ scheme, with suitable-length visas.
There are also asks on responsible access and the implementation of the Rock Review into agricultural tenancies.
In all, it’s a substantive document covering a wide variety of farming policy issues and all interested parties can read more at www.nfuonline.com on the web.
By Oliver Cartwright, NFU
