‘Welsh farmers are being blackmailed just to tick Labour’s eco-boxes,’ writes Andrew RT Davies
Andrew RT Davies says Welsh farmers are being blackmailed
PA
I’ve been elected to the Senedd for 17 years. And in all that time, I’ve never seen anything like what I saw today. Thousands of Welsh farmers, worried about their futures and those of their children, came to the Senedd to protest against the Welsh Labour Government’s farming policies.
While the Senedd has had significant lawmaking powers for many years, on health, education, local government and, of course, on farming, turnouts in Welsh elections are low. At the last election, only 46 per cent of the Welsh public voted.
So it won’t surprise readers that it’s rare to see significant protests outside the building. But today, Welsh farmers bucked that trend.
The Labour Party runs the Welsh Government. And they’re drawing up a new subsidy scheme for our farmers. Labour’s scheme, if unchanged, would force Welsh farmers to give up 10 per cent of their land for tree planting. And they’ll also need to give up another 10 per cent for other Welsh Government aims, if they are to receive any subsidies from Labour.
Andrew RT Davies
PA
Make no mistake, this scheme is green blackmail. It is forcing farmers to give up a massive amount of their land in order to tick Labour’s eco-boxes.
The results will be calamitous.
The Welsh Government’s own economic analysis of the proposals says that the scheme would cost 5,500 jobs. It’ll cause £200million in losses to farm businesses. It’ll result in 120,000 fewer livestock units.
And it’ll see Wales lose 800,000 sheep.
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This is existential for our farmers. And for me, this is personal. I’m a farmer like my dad was before me. I farm alongside my boys every day, and I want them to be able to farm alongside their children as well.
That’s why the Senedd steps, instead of being used as seats for people eating lunch or taking a break during a Spring walk, were today packed with the people who put food on our tables; the guardians of our countryside.
I was proud to speak along follow Conservative colleagues and farming colleagues, including legendary Welsh rugby referee Nigel Owens.
For far too long, our rural communities in Wales have been let down by metropolitan thinking. Welsh lawmakers have been prepared to sacrifice our farmers and our food security at the altar of a deranged green agenda.
Thousands of protesting farmers gathered outside the Senedd
PA
We all want to reduce emissions and protect our environment. But lawmakers need to realise that farmers are the solution, not the problem. They are the guardians of the countryside, and they deserve to be thanked, not battered by Labour’s green targets.
And shamefully, Plaid Cymru are in coalition with Labour in Cardiff Bay. They are complicit in this. Plaid may claim to be friends of our farmers, and they talk a good game when they turn up to meet Welsh farmers in clean wellies that are straight out of the box. But when Plaid politicians are back in their suits in Cardiff Bay, they are complicit in the policies that will destroy so many farming businesses in Wales.
Today, Welsh farming communities made themselves heard. We sent a message that enough is enough. In a globalised world, farming is one of our last great industries. We’re not prepared to allow it to be sacrificed as part of Labour’s cynical political calculation.
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