Dr Neil Hudson MP stood up in Parliament to urge the new Government to back British farmers and growers with concrete funding commitments in order for them to produce quality food to the highest international standards and protect domestic food security.
The wide-ranging speech came during the Conservative's Opposition Day debate on Farming and Food Security and touched on issues from the UK's food security and buying local, to the mental health of communities and the potential impact of animal diseases and flooding events.
The Epping Forest MP is the first Veterinary Surgeon elected to the Commons since 1884; he was a leading member of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee in the last Parliament; and has the support of a vibrant green constituency behind him.
In his speech he specifically spoke of the need to bolster the UK's food security through supporting farmers to produce more, not compromising prime agricultural land with inappropriate solar developments, and making sure animal diseases are kept at bay.
Specifically on biosecurity and animal diseases, Dr Hudson again urged the new Labour Government to adopt the recommendations of a major report which highlighted the critical need to redevelop the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) HQ in Weybridge which works to tackle diseases such as Bluetongue, Avian Influenza and African Swine Fever. This followed an intervention last month which fully explicates the issue. You can read more here.
Having been spurred into politics following the devastation of the 2001 Foot and Mouth Crisis where he was on the frontline as a Veterinary Inspector, Dr Hudson also spoke about the mental health pressures facing the wider community when impacted with crises such as disease outbreaks and flooding events.
Dr Hudson also raised the issue of domestic fertiliser production which is a factor in spiralling input costs for farmers and makes the UK more reliant on the fluctuating international market. More information on the issue can be found here.
Speaking afterwards, Dr Neil Hudson, MP for Epping Forest, said:
"We are 100 days into a new Labour Government and the feeling among food producers is that they have been completely ignored. A mere 87 words were committed to rural issues in Labour's manifesto, there was nothing of substance in the King's Speech and now just weeks away from the Budget we are still without a commitment that the farming budget will be maintained.
"I stood up in the Chamber to make clear to Government that farming and food security is not some niche interest but that it matters for every single one of us - it is directly responsible for food prices at checkouts, for the nation's public health and for animal health, welfare and biosecurity.
"In Government - as in farming - you reap what you sow, and to lapse on our financial and political commitments to our brilliant agricultural communities is to leave the door open to potential emergencies down the line, be this through compromised food production, biosecurity or mental health."
The Speech:
- Dr Hudson's full speech is available here from 6:34 pm.
- You can also watch the speech from 13:34:31 here.
Selected quotations from Dr Hudson's speech:
"We in this country have the best farmers. They produce food to the highest animal welfare standards, and we should be very proud of them."
"My journey into politics started in 2001 with the outbreak of foot and mouth disease. I know what the implications are—I saw sights then that I never want to see again in my lifetime—and we have seen what happens when biosecurity breaks down."
"We need to support our farming communities when serious things happen, such as flooding or disease outbreaks. When something more chronic happens—say, when farms get a positive result during periodic tuberculosis testing—we need to make sure that the mental health of farmers, vets, and everyone else is supported. That is so important."
"We can help our farming and food-producing communities. We encourage people to buy British, and I pay tribute to the NFU and to my hon. Friend the Member for Hinckley and Bosworth (Dr Evans) for the Buy British campaign that all the British supermarkets have signed up to."
"I finish by saying that food security is national security, biosecurity is national security, and we must protect both."
