We were put under a lot of pressure at various times to be part of the Peoples Vote, and call for another referendum. I have to say, at this moment in time, it is hard to see how we retain our levels of self-sufficiency, and keep our farmers with the same price structure, effectively, that they have at the moment. MB: No, I think its an enormous challenge within government. minette batters family. MB: There was an element of, Goodness, what is this going to look like? Weve got the climate here to be growing it. WebBrowse 72 minette batters photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more photos and images. You have to go there with what I used to describe to Michael a magpie moment, the glittery jewel that makes government think, Oh yes, that looks exciting. Weve got to be able to look at, actually, how we enable these growers to have access to the workforce that they need. Dont forget, Michael Gove did not hold back in this arena, he is well documented and publicised. So, I think we engaged on every level. And everybody was adamant that we could not have a border on the island of Ireland. I sat back down next to him and I said, What do you think? And he looked at me, slightly surprised, and he said, I think youre very brave. You dont mention food production, you dont mention agriculture, all youre mentioning is the environment. And Australias big, offensive asks on beef, certainly, maybe lamb. And what I wanted to say was, Agriculture is the solution in all of this. Walters describes herself as an exploratory writer who never uses a plot scheme, begins with simple premises, has no idea 'whodunit' until halfway through a story, but who remains excited about each novel because she, along with her reader, wants to know what happens next. I mean, a big, big difference, and it continues to grow. The coalition showed that this was about consumers, this was about everybody believing in it. That, above all else, United Kingdom farmers remained the number one supplier of choice to their own marketplace. I definitely felt that was a moment in time. So, it continues just to be a live issue that will have to be overcome, at some stage. She graduated from Trevelyan College, Durham in 1971 with a BA in French. Or did they think it was just a completely unacceptable attempt to cherry-pick the single market? That is still ongoing, and we still dont know what the future of checks is going to look like. Do you think the Government has yet worked out beyond some of the things youve been worried about like the ban on live animal exports the opportunities of post-Brexit Britain, on regulating differently, more smartly, being more pro-innovation? In fact, weve probably actively driven away people from some sectors. Those three things together, for a long-term business- I would say, if you werent worried then, you werent actively engaged. And its still not resolved, which just shows how complex it is. The authoritative source for independent research on UK-EU relations, President, National Farmers Union February 2018 Present, Deputy President, National Farmers Union February 2014 February 2018. MB: There is a lot of talk that says farmers voted unanimously Leave, but I dont think they were any different to anyone else at all. We wanted MPs to be able to know all aspects of those free trade agreements, what was in them, what the impact would be, and we wanted them, ultimately, to have the final say. UKICE: So, the negotiations are going on. Youve got all the challenges with Stranraer and other places about access points. Which, of course, it should never have been, because that was about food safety and what we were wanting to talk about was food values, and the laws of our land. [2] Walters spent a year at the Abbey School in Reading, Berkshire, before winning a Foundation Scholarship at the Godolphin boarding school in Salisbury. Because one thing is for certain, you cant be all things to all men. WebAccording to the latest Twitter stat on 2023-02-11, Minette Batters has a total favourites count of 10625 on the Twitter account and Minette Batters has 22.3 Thousand followers We knew that we could have a global scheme, that it didnt all have to be about Europe, but with a reliance in the seasonal workforce, of 80,000 seasonal workers, to pick and pack and plant our fruit, veg and flowers. You also hear talk of having higher standards here, so being above the EU. For some sectors, if you take upland livestock, youre looking at an 80% drop in farm business income, which is enormous. Its a massively significant employer. Things could go massively But he was reshuffled when Boris Johnson came in. As a net importer from the EU, and it being our most important export market, it was in the economic interest for farmers on both sides that we added as little cost and friction as possible. MB: I think, genuinely, probably nobody wanted it to play out how its played out, which has been long and protracted and divisive. We went to Wageningen University, a world leading Dutch University with experience in running agricultural trade models. What difference did it make to you in engaging with the Government when Michael Gove, on rehabilitation into the Cabinet, took over from Andrea Leadsom, and started to make a lot of noise about what post-Brexit policy might look like? At the moment, I feel weve got a lot of warm words, and we just need to know the nuts and bolts of what the genuine ambition is for this country. You know, vote for this, because it will be cheaper. Batterss 17-year-old twins, who are studying for their A-levels, havent decided if they will take over running the farm, but it remains a family business. I think there was an element of relief that it wasnt necessary to re-inform someone who came in totally new. What we feel is that the dialogue must bring a pragmatic solution at some stage. Trade is such dry policy, that a lot of people, particularly in the media, were not taking the time to understand it. UKICE: One way of making that operation much easier would have been to sign up to alignment, or greater alignment, on SPS in the TCA, but none of that really seemed to come to fruition. What was not to like? MB: What wed been talking about, accepting that we were no longer going to be a part of the Single Market, was how free and frictionless trade was needed on both sides. Within six months of that new government I was conscious that wed led the standards campaign. Her husband, Malcolm, is not involved under option with Company Pictures. The daffodil-growers in Cornwall will have faced enormous losses. And Chequers definitely gave way to those conversations happening in a constructive manner, without doubt. In fact, the solid line from the NFU had been that we wanted to maintain our high standards of animal welfare. And this, I think, still remains a very complex political issue. MB: I think there was an element of thinking, They can never do this, because it will be so bad. Where the UK/ GB exporters face the full battery of checks going into the EU, and EU exporters are waved through at the UK border. We have commissioned some independent research to look at the viability of the new schemes, of how much will be lost, effectively, from BPS, and how much can be made up through either the agri-environment schemes or through the sustainable farming incentive. Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Agriculture is up for this global climate challenge. These have been continuous weekly dialogue groups, with officials and ministers. Home; Service. Im not so sure. Minette met her husband Alec Walters while she was at Durham and they married in 1978. UKICE: In March 2019, Daniel Kawczynski said hed vote for the Withdrawal Agreement, given the negative prospects of no deal exit to the farming industry. So, that is why we want you to be part of the SPS area. UKICE: When you saw the Northern Ireland Protocol that the Prime Minister had agreed to, did you anticipate that it was going to cause what appeared to be quite a lot of problems for east-west trade in agrifood products? MB: We made continual calls, between Nick von Westenholz, myself and the other office-holders, with backbench MPs, talking about how dire a no deal would be. Did you think, I need this like a hole in the head, I could just go back to my farm and live a quiet life, rather than get stuck into this political morass? Possibly. Whitehall has driven so much of EU rules and regulations for agriculture and the environment, so when we bring it back home, weve got to be able to make sure that it works across those four countries. To undermine our farmers, when you want them to have regulation that costs a lot of money, and undermine them with cheap products coming in that dont even meet the first rung of the ladder, was going to do one thing, and that was going to put our farmers out of business. And I think the likes of Daniel Kawczynski, too, supported it, on that very basis. What did the NFU want? We decided that in order to be compliant with the Electoral Commission rules, which of course had limited spending for unregistered bodies to 10,000, that we would need to take a position to comply with those rules. Suddenly, the environment was rising up the agenda and everybody wanted a slice of it, and he was running the show. So, I think we pretty soon realised that this was going to be difficult. I speak to my opposite number in France, Christiane Lambert, who is President of the FNSEA, the French version of the NFU, getting her to lobby the French government on why we need border control posts, Calais being pretty pivotal in all of this. I still look back on it as, fundamentally, my job is about speaking truth to power and getting what is needed for, not only the members, but consumers. That takes me back to the point where I said that trade policy is so complex, its dull as ditch water, and so many people, politically, had not got to grips with the massive challenge, particularly the issues we would see on the island of Ireland. What we must avoid is a two-tier food system. We knew that we had to be able to inform our members of facts. There is a lot of detail that needs to be progressed, and rapidly, for farmers to feel confident to get onto the new platform for next year. Ultimately, when we look at the delinking process, you are going to see 50% of direct support that will be capped in four years. Did you target any of the backbenchers who were holding out? So, influencing is going to be important. But with his unfrozen moment speech and things like that, were you worried that he was veering too much in that direction, and wasnt taking full account of the needs of food security or valuing food production? I dont think that agriculture and food have been given, effectively, the opportunity to empower a UK workforce. Well, that will be really, really damaging. For me, the issue was, How do we pivot this back to the policies that are needed for sustainable food production?. Baroness McIntosh of Pickering with NFU Vice President Wales is almost in a slightly more similar position to England. I guess its knowing that you are going into a period of enormous change, but that change hasnt actually happened yet. Were still going to need a workforce. MB: I still think that is undecided, effectively. Her novels are often set against real backgrounds and real events to draw her readers into the 'reality' of what she is writing about. So, there was that seasonal focus.
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