Food for thought

Show leaders must speak up

THIS WEEK’S celebration of rural life at the 160th Great Yorkshire Show comes at a pivotal moment. A year ago, Michael Gove visited the Harrogate showground and promised, in one of his first public appearances as Environment Secretary, to put farming at the heart of the Brexit negotiations.

Fast forward 12 months, and Mr Gove’s anticipated return visit later this week – political events permitting – comes when the abrupt resignations of senior Ministers have plunged the Government into crisis and left business leaders, including the farming fraternity, wondering whether the Cabinet strategy agreed last Friday will hold or not.

Even though many farm businesses are undertaking considerable work to prepare for every eventuality post-Brexit, they deserve better than this and it’s important that senior figures in positions of influence, like Yorkshire Agricultural Society’s much-respected director Nigel Pulling, use their seniority to tell Ministers, including Mr Gove, how the prevailing chaos and confusion is hitting all sectors of the economy.

From Brexit to making sure that the rural economy is integral to the One Yorkshire devolution deal being brokered between local leaders and the Government, this year’s Great Yorkshire Show is a timely opportunity to remind Ministers – and others – what will be put at risk unless farmers can begin to prepare for the future with more certainty for now.