CLA meets with Carlisle parliamentary candidates

CLA Acting Director North Henk Geertsema, along with a small group of CLA members, respectively met with Carlisle constituency parliamentary candidates Brian Wernham (Liberal Democrat) and Julie Minns (Labour Party. The meeting was kindly hosted by CLA Cumbria Branch Vice-Chair Jocelyn Holland, and her son in law, Michael Dobson.

The purpose of the meeting was for CLA members to raise various farming and concerns of those living and working in rural areas as well as government policy matters impacting the rural economy. The meeting also afforded both candidates an opportunity to set out his vision for the constituency with a view to the next General Election.

Issues discussed included:

• Sustainable and profitable farming, food security, and the loss of arable land in the context of diminishing farming support under Basic Payment Scheme and the replacement Sustainable Farming Incentive with an explicit focus on the environment. International trade agreements which undercuts the high food production standards in Britain.
• Responsible public access to the countryside, including a call to incorporate the Countryside Code in the educational curriculum, in addition to discussing the issues around irresponsible visitor behaviour around littering, irresponsible parking; and disturbance of livestock and wildlife, especially ground nesting birds.
• Nutrient Neutrality and the elimination of sewage pollution and mitigating the risk of flooding. With regard to the latter, farmers and landowners are part of the solution to prevent flooding in the city of Carlisle.
• Obstacles to economic growth in rural areas locally, and more generally, with a specific focus on planning issues relating to affordable housing and small scale developments; renewable energy infrastructure, electricity grid capacity; skills and employment issues, alongside health service provision; transport links; digital connectivity.

The respective meetings follows a meeting earlier in the year with Carlisle MP John Stevenson (Conservative) who will also contest the Carlisle seat at the next General Election.