No longer a bonus, now they pose a real threat ...

His Bridgwater and West Somerset constituency is rightly famous for the quality of its scenery – a natural attraction for tourists, Conservative MP Ian Liddell-Grainger tells Defra Secretary George Eustice. But at times like these, tourists are the last people it needs

DEAR George, I suppose the term ‘ baptism of fire’ hardly does justice to the situation into which you have walked on promotion but may I just pass on the relief being voiced by many farmers that, whatever the current difficulties, at least Defra is now under the command of someone who understands the industry, the day-to-day challenges it faces – and the exceptional ones currently confronting it.

If one positive thing emerges from this nightmare it will, I think, be a greater general appreciation by consumers of how important agriculture is to us.

There are, after all, few things more guaranteed to concentrate the mind than the sight of empty food displays in supermarkets, upon encountering which consumers’ thoughts automatically turn to the people who are going to refill them.

I hope all current policies are aimed at encouraging and assisting farmers to keep up the vital supplies of foodstuffs – though I have encountered a worrying report this week of at least one supermarket telling a large dairy processor that milk prices will have to be cut again and that it is ‘Government policy’ that they should.

I trust that it is not, because forcing down milk prices any further is merely going to shorten the supply: farmers are already barely breaking even with liquid prices where they are and many of them are actually losing money. Simple economics dictates that if you are losing money on what you sell, you are better off not selling it and – in the case of milk – pouring the product away. Which, of course, is the last thing we want to see happen.

Just has been the case in Cornwall one unwanted side effect of the virus has been the steady stream of caraQuite aside from breaking all the But these are not normal times. An vanners, camper van owners and stipulated conditions about reducing influx of tourists and holiday home second homers all decamping down travel, it puts strain on supplies in occupiers now is not a bonus but a to my neck of the woods, which they the shops and would – if the worst real threat. We have had a certain regard as being a safe haven. happened – also risk overloading amount of success in getting one

I find it hard to comprehend such medical services. particularly troublesome caravan levels of arrogance and selfishness. It I am not anti-tourist: I fully undersite shut down until such time as the is treating the locals as though they stand that a very large number of crisis is behind us but I can tell you don’t exist, don’t matter and have no businesses at least at the western the mood among local people is rights. Because these people own end of my patch rely almost exclubecoming darker. Unless all sites are accommodation, whether fixed or sively on tourists and I take, under closed and non-local camper vans mobile, they seem to believe this normal circumstances, a certain ordered back whence they came, I bestows on them the automatic right amount of pride in representing a really fear there could be some pretty not merely to citizenship ofconfrontations.whereverconstituencywhosesheernaturalunpleasant they fetch up but to priority treatbeauty is one of its two greatest ecoYours ever, ment. nomic assets. Ian

A busy car park at Gwithian in Cornwall as surfers and walkers head to the beach for their daily exercise on the first day of lockdown recently