Jayne Kirkham

Jayne Kirkham

Labour (Co-op) — Truro and Falmouth

Speaking in the House of Commons on 7 January 2026

Debate

Rural Communities

Contribution

I agree that communities must have a say, but they must also benefit, and that is one of the things that the Government will ensure. Another type of security is food security. We had a very difficult decade under the Conservatives. Brexit caused real problems at the border, which our sanitary and phytosanitary EU agreement will hopefully untangle to a certain extent by 2027. There were also the terrible trade deals with Australia and New Zealand, which will allow an influx of beef in while very little will go the other way. It has been a time of flux for farmers since Brexit. We saw the rocky introduction of the environmental land management schemes. That money has been spent very quickly under this Government and is coming back in a new and improved sustainable farming incentive in April, which will hopefully give support to food production as part of that environmental stewardship. Working with recommendations from Minette Batters, the Government can now focus on farm profitability, which is vital. Through the strategies that are due this year, the land use framework and the farming strategies road map, the Government will create a vision for farming in this country—and we will get there.

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