Dairy Industry

There is one issue that my hon. Friend forgot to mention just now. He lives in Somerset and I rep...

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. I will be talking about processors shortly, but he i...

On that point of reinvestment and making milk production more efficient, does my hon. Friend thin...

Yes. My hon. Friend raises an interesting issue. It is not only a question of RDAs and which side...

The producer group question is really important, because it leads us on to the contracts. It is v...

I welcome my hon. Friend’s contribution. More producer organisations being able to negotiate dece...

Does my hon. Friend agree that if producer organisations are to have clout they have to represent...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Farmers’ great strength is their independence, but sometimes ...

Order. The hon. Gentleman has had more than the allotted time. Out of deference to him, I will le...

I am very close to the end.

We need, therefore, to get more milk into the emerging markets ...

Lots of colleagues want to speak. I was slightly generous to the hon. Gentleman, but I really am ...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Walker. I congratulate the hon. Member for ...

I have one last notice. The Clerk will ring a little bell when a speaker has a minute left. That ...

I congratulate the hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife (Thomas Docherty) on securing this d...

Does my hon. Friend agree that there are also enormous export opportunities for dairy farmers? I ...

As so often, my hon. Friend is a prophet. I was just about to say that.

The previous Minist...

It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Walker.

I congratulate my hon. Friend ...

I, too, pay tribute to the outgoing Minister with responsibility for farming, my right hon. Frien...

On the point about a supermarket or groceries code adjudicator, I have been chair of the Grocery ...

Indeed. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend, who is one of the leading proponents of the Groceries Co...

I am pleased to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Walker. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for D...

The hon. Lady is making a powerful case. Is she as confused as I sometimes am by people insisting...

I am with the dairy industry and with the hon. Gentleman on that issue. I live in the countryside...

Hon. Members may have noticed that the bell is broken. I apologise to the hon. Lady.

3.23 p...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for South Down (Ms Ritchie), and to see so many collea...

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Dunfermline and West Fife (Thomas Docherty)on securi...

Cheshire has a long tradition of dairy farming. Few hon. Members in this Chamber will have failed...

I, too, congratulate the hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife (Thomas Docherty) on securing ...

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Tiverton and Honiton (Neil Parish) and the hon. Memb...

We are making fantastic progress. If we maintain discipline, I hope that we can get all hon. Memb...

There was a time during the post office closure programme when post offices were described as pla...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Walker. I congratulate the hon. Member for ...

I will be brief. If we are not a nation of farmers, what are we? The way of life that we enjoy de...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. I am absolutely delighted that so ma...

One of the best campaigns over the past few years has been from the Women’s Institute, whose work...

I thank my hon. Friend. I am left with a marvellous image of him up to the navel in milk. I know ...

To make sure that everyone can contribute, I will now limit speeches to six minutes absolutely, w...

Thank you, Mr Betts. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship today, and I will try to b...

As ever, it is a privilege to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. Like many hon. Members her...

I welcome the new Minister to his post and wish him well in his efforts to save the UK’s dairy in...

It is a great pleasure to take part in the debate. I should perhaps declare an interest, in that ...

I congratulate the hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife (Thomas Docherty). He made some impo...

I will not repeat the powerful arguments that have been made by the hon. Member for Dunfermline a...

It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts, although I must confess that, with th...

Shropshire.

Okay, fine.

From speaking to my local farmers’ forum, our local NFU branch, it is clear tha...

I have waited two and a half years for this moment. It is really sad that, as a nation of tea dri...

I thank hon. Members for their co-operation and for ensuring that everyone got to speak. There ar...

This has been a tremendous debate. If my arithmetic is correct and I include the Front-Bench spea...

I raise my glass because it did have milk in it until I was told by the policeman outside that I ...

Perhaps the Administration Committee will look at the rules and allow us to bring in good UK prod...

The hon. Gentleman speaks about the proud tradition of his party and its relationship with the co...

I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman is trying to make this debate party political; I am tryi...

My hon. Friend has spoken a great deal about fairness and equity in this industry. Although I thi...

Indeed. I will return to that important point shortly; the hon. Member for Carmarthen East and Di...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way, as he is running out of time, but I hope that...

I will try, but I might well run out of time. We need another debate, and following that decision...

I am grateful to the hon. Member for Ogmore (Huw Irranca-Davies) for his welcome, and for the wel...

Will the Minister give way?

If my hon. Friend is going to argue about that statement, no, I will not.

I am sure that now the Minister is in post he will be travelling right the way around the world. ...

That will get me into some very interesting discussions with border officials in a lot of countri...

Does my hon. Friend agree that, Europe-wide, only a certain percentage—30%, I think—of producers ...

I think it can make a contribution. All of these things are cumulative, but we should encourage c...

Will the Minister give way?

I will, but this is possibly the last time.

I am most grateful to the Minister. Will he clarify whether the two funds will be open only to En...

I am responsible only for farming in England. However, I have already contacted the analogous pos...

Will the Minister give way?

Unfortunately, I do not think I can give way, although I would love to do so.

I will contin...

In the short time I have left, I thank everyone for their contributions this afternoon. There hav...