Bassetlaw has a heritage and a future in energy production, with coalmining and power stations once dominating the skylines, the workforce and our communities. Although its focus is now shifting towards bringing world-leading fusion energy production to the area, we also have a proud tradition of food production, with farms and rural communities covering over half of my constituency.
The farmers in Bassetlaw are deep-rooted and a proud part of our history. It was essential that I met local farmers both before and after I was elected in July, so that I could understand their priorities and represent their interests. Following my election, I immediately joined the NFU scheme, and I look forward to visiting a chicken-packing centre at the end of this week. I want to know at first hand the difficulties, the conflicts and the changes that our farmers are making to meet today’s challenging needs, expectations and market forces.
In Bassetlaw, we have a mix of mainly arable farms, with some farms combining livestock and arable, and a small number that focus solely on livestock. In recent times, they have had to deal with the impacts of Storms Babet and Henk, with water sitting in fields for months, which has turned them into pond bottoms and impacted on production plans and opportunities. Over the last 14 years, hikes in the cost of living and rises in the price of fuel, seed and grain have all had impacts.
Getting people to work on our farms has proved to be a perennial problem, which has been made much more difficult in recent years because apprenticeship opportunities remain unfilled and finding reliable crop pickers is becoming as rare as hen’s teeth. Rural crime is a huge issue. Fly-tipping and the theft of livestock and equipment are daily threats that interrupt people’s working lives and impact on production and profits.
The Tories’ Brexit deal ignored the needs of farmers. We have all seen the queuing at the ports, with rotting fruit and vegetables and an inability to safely transport livestock. The last Government’s trade deals have allowed cheaper food to be imported due to the lower farming standards in overseas nations. I welcome the £5 billion commitment to British farmers in the recent Budget—the largest ever financial commitment in farming history. It will be directed at sustainable food production so that we eat more British-produced food. There will be an additional £60 million to support farmers affected by the storms last winter, alongside the new flood resilience taskforce that will work to protect farmers’ fields from the extremes of the weather, and on top of this the Government have committed £208 million to rebuild the armoury against disease threats that impact so greatly on the farming industry. For the first time ever, there will be a cross-Government rural crime strategy focused on cracking down on the criminals who blight our countryside.
I want to live in a country that puts pride into buying British food. My challenge is that we lead that campaign in our advertising, our supermarkets, our restaurants and cafes, our high streets and our markets. Aligning the Union Jack with the food we eat is the key to strengthening our commitment to buying British, whether it is on our menus or on the shop counter. Choosing British must become the first and best choice. We need to adapt to once again buying and eating seasonal food. That was a way of life and is something that we should be proud to return to. Forget convenience and buy British! That is why I welcome the Government’s using their purchasing power across the public sector. Some 50% of the food eaten in hospitals, prisons, schools and army bases will now have to be locally produced.
This Government will protect farmers from being undercut by the low welfare standards and poor standards in trade deals. I am proud to sit on the Bill Committee that is steering through a new veterinary agreement with the EU to get our live food exports into overseas markets. I am proud of my country and I am proud of the farmers in Bassetlaw. I will continue to listen to their concerns and I am speaking to DEFRA and Treasury Ministers about those concerns. Their voice is my voice.
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