I was pleased to highlight the problems facing Welsh farmers in the House of Commons on Thursday 14th March. The Prime Minister’s recent announcement of £220 million to deploy new technology to boost productivity in the farming sector in England compares very favourably with Welsh Labour’s Sustainable Farming Scheme which would force farmers in Clwyd South and the rest of Wales to reduce their productive land by 20%. This would result in the reduction of 122,200 Welsh livestock with 5,500 jobs being lost along with a £199 million loss to the Welsh economy.
In her response, the Leader of the House, Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP, said: “I commend my Honourable Friend and the farmers that he represents for all the work that they are doing to fight against these plans. He is right, it will cost jobs. It is an appalling use of good agricultural land, and that’s why just 3% of the farming community trusts the Welsh government and 87% of farmers believe that that misguided farming policy would not benefit their work or their business or, very importantly, deliver a positive outcome with regard to the environment. I think Labour in Wales need to start listening to farmers."
