As we glance in direction of the top of 2024 and the primary six months of the brand new authorities, we needed to attract breath and feed again on a number of the work we now have been doing in Westminster and past.
Whereas we proceed to interact with authorities officers on particular programmes of labor, a lot of what occurs in Westminster is constructed on relationships, and particularly constructing a community of supportive MPs who’re keen to go in to bat for you within the Palace of Westminster.
Following the election earlier this yr, there are actually 335 new MPs in Westminster, which means greater than half of the Commons is model new. Whereas this presents a problem for us on the NPA, it additionally supplies a chance to positively have interaction and educate a complete new cohort of MPs about our sector for the very first time.
Whereas there are such a lot of points that we want to elevate with MPs, it will be important that we preserve centered and don’t overload new MPs with info, in addition to having asks of backbenchers which can be truly inside their powers.
We proceed to lift the specter of African swine fever (ASF) and our biosecurity and borders with all MPs. It’s important we guarantee ASF and its potential harm to our trade stays on the radar of presidency, in addition to mentioning the vulnerabilities in our nationwide biosecurity owing to the rise in unlawful and banned meat merchandise being introduced into the nation.
Inside Westminster, we now have had conferences with 10 MPs, giving us that probability to essentially get into the main points of a topic and supply policymakers with the prospect
to ask questions in return in a confidential setting.
Past this, we now have been partaking with an extra 18 MPs, at occasions like social gathering conferences or by way of their workplaces. We’re within the technique of attempting to repair dates to fulfill with a few of them, and plenty of of them have additionally written to ministers and tabled questions in parliament on our behalf.
APPG dialogue
In the meantime, our new All-Social gathering Parliamentary Group for Meals Safety has had its second occasion, at which we had a extremely engaged dialogue with MPs and friends about biosecurity and the state of affairs on the bottom on the Port of Dover.
About 120t of illegally imported pigmeat has now been seized at Dover, and the case research we talked by way of left members shocked on the scale of the problem the group there faces.
Equally, a few weeks in the past I used to be happy to affix Tom Bradshaw (NFU), Robert Martin (TFA) and Gavin Lane (CLA) as a part of a personal roundtable dialogue with members of the brand new Surroundings, Meals and Rural Affairs Committee.
We mentioned all issues referring to the way forward for farming within the UK, in addition to the work of the committee. Whereas issues referring to the Finances, farm funds, planning and staffing had been raised by all 4 of us, I used to be additionally eager to press the significance of the committee as soon as once more trying on the UK’s biosecurity image and the adequacy of our border safety measures.
MPs on farms
Lastly, the jewel within the crown has been the prospect to get MPs out on farms throughout the nation.
In September, we had John Cooper MP out in south-west Scotland, after which in October, we had Brian Matthew MP out in Wiltshire and Patrick Spencer MP with us in Suffolk. Most lately, in November we had Sir Alec Shelbrooke MP on farm in his Yorkshire constituency.
Whereas these sorts of visits are at all times difficult to drag collectively, each when it comes to diaries and biosecurity, they provide a useful alternative to point out MPs what farmers of their constituency do.
Many can have by no means seen a pig of their lives, not to mention a industrial farm, and it offers us the prospect to chop by way of the narrative they may have obtained from the assorted anti-farming teams on the market.
Waiting for subsequent yr, we now have a couple of extra farm visits within the diary and we’re eager to get extra of those that we now have met with out on to farms as effectively.
Equally, if any NPA members are eager to host their native MPs, please get in contact and we might help facilitate such a go to.
