The External Affairs Team have focussed on building on our networks with external stakeholders ahead of a critical few months in Parliament, and assisting regional colleagues in getting MPs out on combine harvesters, as part of our #YourHarvest campaign.
NFU London hosts Drought Summit
NFU London hosted an agricultural drought summit with representatives from Defra, the Environment Agency (EA), Natural England, the RPA and other farming organisations to find short- and medium-term solutions to the challenges by farmers and growers as a result of the dry weather.
The meeting drew significant press attention and has resulted in important progress in a number of areas that the NFU has been working on for members during the heatwave. After the event, all MPS were sent a detailed briefing outlining the challenges the dry weather has presented to Britain’s farmers, and the NFU’s asks.
It was good to have the DEFRA Secretary Michael Gove MP visit our new office for the first time.
Building our network with External Stakeholders
In Westminster, we have continued our focus on strengthening the NFU’s relationships with external stakeholders ahead of MPs returning to Westminster. With the publication of the Agriculture Bill imminent, the Customs and Trade Bills expected to make progress through Parliament in September and October, and an Immigration Bill due in the late autumn, we are meeting as many stakeholders as possible to make sure that where we can campaign together, we will do so.
August a good month for MP engagement
It’s been a busy month for MP meetings with regional offices making the most of having MPs out of Westminster for the summer. There has been a particular focus this year on getting MPs out on combines as part of our #YourHarvest campaign. MPs who’ve been out on farm this month include: Tim Farron MP (Liberal, Westmorland and Lonsdale), Sandy Martin MP (Labour, Ipswich), Peter Heaton-Jones MP (Cons, North Devon), Tom Pursglove MP (Cons, Corby), Labour Shadow DEFRA Minister Dr David Drew MP (Labour, Stroud), Geoffrey Cox MP (Cons, Torridge and West Devon), Chris Skidmore MP (Cons, Kingswood), Sheryl Murray MP (Cons, South East Cornwall), Neil O’Brien MP (Cons, Harborough), Craig Tracey MP (Cons, North Warwickshire), Andrew Selous MP (Cons, South West Bedfordshire,) Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt MP (North West Bedfordshire), Sajid Javid MP (Cons, Bromsgrove), Fiona Bruce MP (Cons, Congleton), Nick Herbert MP (Cons, Arundel and the South Downs), Jeremy Quin MP (Cons, Horsham), Gillian Keegan MP (Cons, Chichester) and Patrick Flynn MEP (East of England, UKIP).