Foot and Mouth

Peter Ainsworth Shadow Environment Secretary came to North Wales today to a meeting held by David Jones MP from Clwyd West and Antoinette Sandbach from Delyn to discuss what the Conservatives could do to help Welsh farmers who are in dire straights as a result of the Foot and Mouth outbreak. Representatives of the NFU and the FUW were at the meeting as well as a large number of farmers from accross North Wales. Despite being responsible for the outbreak and then failing to ensure that the disease had been properly contained before lifting restrictions the government has also failed to provide ANY compensation to Welsh farming which has lost millions as a result of the failure to repair the drains at Pirbright. Antoinette said "It is time that the Government acknowledged their responsibility for the crisis which is currently threatening huge losses for farmers in Flintshire. The market at Mold which is at the heart of the town will open tomorrow - but farmers, auctioneers and others who depend on our ability to produce and sell the highest quality lamb and beef have been crippled by foot and mouth restrictions all caused by the negligence of this Government. The Government should compensate to the full extent of its legal liabililty and act to help farmers."

  • Under Labour 31% of farming households are living below the UK poverty line. The average farmer earns less than £14,000, half the amount a farmer earned in 1997 and nearly half of farms have a net farm income of less than £10,000. Dairy incomes have fallen by 20% in the last year alone.
  • Under Labour almost 80,000 people have left the agricultural labour force.
  • Under Labour Defra regulations are up 40% since 2003. According to their own figures the cost to business of Defra regulations is £527.8m
  • Under Labour bovine TB has accounted for almost 160,000 cattle and £500 million. 22,000 cattle were slaughtered as a result of bovine TB in 2006 and the total cost of bovine TB is now £100 million per annum.
  • There is also the failure of the Rural Payments Agency - documented on Warmwell.

It is no wonder an August study in the British Medical Journal found that farmers have the lowest quality of life in Britain, with a suicide rate twice the national average.

Gordon Brown might aspire to national leadership but his treatment of Britain’s farmers show while he will never stand for rural communities in the heart of Wales.