"Over the years I have wondered about what has happened to British farming, which was once highly profitable and reckoned to be the most efficient in the world. I think the Thatcher government in 1979 was determined to control inflation, and so they promoted superstores as an instrument of driving downprices. Unfortunately, they didn't realise that this would end up with the superstores having an unfair advantage over producers - particularly food producers.

Farming was already in a bad way when Labour came in - but Labour only understand the cities. So, when the farmers canvassed Blair, he would probably have asked his chancellor what the consequences might be of putting food prices up and giving farmers a fair deal. The Chancellor might then have pointed out that, if food prices went up, benefits would also have to go up - and then taxes would have to rise to pay the increased benefits. So, instead of giving farmers a fair deal, Blair told them to "diversify" - eg. grow caravans as well as food.

The LibDems produced a very fair policy paper called "Rural Futures", which strives more than any other policy document produced by any political party, amongst other things, to give farmers a fair deal. However, LibDem strategy at present concentrates on beating Labour in the cities - even though half their MP's have country seats. So, lately we have heard very little from theLibDems about their "Rural Futures" policy paper.

We can do without paper, TV's, aeroplanes, computers and many other things, but the one thing we cannot do without is food, and farmers, as food producers, deserve to be treated fairly, in order to encourage them to continue in business. In my view, it is in the National Interest that everybody should urge politicians of every political persuasion to give farming a fair deal"