Steve Witherden

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Turner. It was in this Chamber, on 28 January 2025, that I was the only Labour MP to speak out against the Government’s proposed changes to agricultural property relief. I did so in the knowledge that such changes would have been damaging to the livelihoods of huge swathes of my constituents. There is no industry more important than the food industry. The food sector employs 17% of Wales’s total workforce, and at the heart of that sector lie our farmers. A sustainable farming sector requires fairness and transparency throughout its supply chain. An industry built on long-term planning, fair returns and transparency will make for a more resilient industry in the face of current challenges than one based on short-term decision making. As most farmers do not sell directly to retailers, the NFU has long campaigned for the Government to extend the code to include more retailers, food service businesses and manufacturers in order to oversee the trading relationship between farmers and their intermediaries, ensuring that farmers get the best possible deal. We must also recognise the importance of trading with the European Union, on which Wales relies heavily for 75% of our food and drink exports. A commitment to strengthen our relationship with the EU would create valuable opportunities for Welsh producers and support growth across the sector.