CLA East lobbying latest
An update on political engagement in the region
The CLA East team is continuously engaging with MPs from across the region and raising issues of significance to members.
Shadow Farming Minister Robbie Moore and Broadland and Fakenham MP Jerome Mayhew met with the CLA and a group of farmers at Salle Estate in Norfolk.
The discussion focused heavily on food production, the cost pressures facing farming businesses and the policy environment needed to support the sector.
Environmental Delivery Plans, water management and the Sustainable Farming Incentive were all topics raised.
The meeting came just days after the Conservative Party Conference where Shadow Defra Secretary of State Victoria Atkins had stated that her party would scrap the Environment Agency and Natural England, if it was successful in a future general election.
Meanwhile, Labour MP Terry Jermy, who sits on the Labour Rural Research Group, hosted his first South West Norfolk Farming Conference recently.
The event brought together local farmers, growers and agricultural businesses in South Runcton.
Joining the event were representatives from government agencies, farming charities, mental health and wellbeing services, rural support networks, environmental and conservation organisations, agricultural business advisers, and skills, training and apprenticeship providers.
The event provided a platform for the CLA to continue its engagement with Terry following numerous visits organised for him to members’ businesses.
In Suffolk, Patrick Spencer MP heard from CLA members during a roundtable discussion hosted by CLA Suffolk Chairman Bruce Kerr. Inheritance tax, the Sustainable Farming Incentive, and the need for on-farm reservoirs were raised, with the planning system and concerns over abstraction licensing among the blockers.
This week, the CLA is meeting North Norfolk MP Steff Aquarone during a visit hosted by a CLA member.
Water management and challenges with abstraction will be among the topics raised, as will the planning system and how it is holding back proposals for business growth.
If you are a CLA member and would like us to reach out to and engage with your local MP, please contact east@cla.org.uk and share your request.