Today, Banbury Conservatives welcomed the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Rt Hon Andrea Leadsom MP, to Banbury where she met with local farmers to discuss the opportunities for British agriculture following Britain’s exit from the European Union.
During her visit, which included a tour of Wykham Park Farm with owner John Colegrave, the Secretary of State stressed the importance of agriculture and the rural economy as a whole.
Speaking afterwards, the neighbouring South Northamptonshire MP said: “Food and farming is worth £110 billion to the economy and employs one in eight of us so it's a vital industry which I'm determined to champion.
As we seize the opportunity to design a system that is tailored to the needs of British farmers, and not 28 different Member States, it's really useful to hear farmers' views and ideas firsthand. John and his neighbouring farmers made some great points which I'll be taking back to DEFRA and discussing further with colleagues.”
The farm visit was followed by a meeting with Conservative candidates in the upcoming Oxfordshire County Council elections. David Beverly (Ruscote), Eddie Reeves (Calthorpe) and Tony Ilott (Hardwick) spoke with the Secretary of State about countryside protection, flood defences and air quality.