UKICE: Theresa May was absolutely clear that Brexit meant ending free movement, but farming and food processing had been very dependent on Eastern European migration for a long time. In fact, the solid line from the NFU had been that we wanted to maintain our high standards of animal welfare. And this, I think, still remains a very complex political issue. South West farmers say 'beef doesn't have to cost the earth 72 Minette Batters Premium High Res Photos - Getty Images MB: It was a worry in the context of how it was set out. Has farming and agriculture gone up the government agenda in prominence, now that its not just an obscure Agriculture Council that nobody really can understand, that comes back with a protected budget that gets implemented? fivem gun crafting location; pros and cons of lifesource water system; usta friend at court 2022 handbook Have you been pressurising government-? Walters joined IPC Magazines as a sub-editor in IMDb is the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content. Minette joined IPC Magazines as a sub-editor in 1972 and became an editor of Womans Weekly Library the following year. HARDtalk - Minette Batters - President, National Farmers Union Ultimately, when we look at the delinking process, you are going to see 50% of direct support that will be capped in four years. UKICE: Had you anticipated the Leave vote, from where you live and from all the meetings youd been having during the referendum campaign? Minette Walters - Wikipedia If were going to continue with a policy that is about raising standards in this country, and not asking the same for other countries, thats going to have big impact on our farmers and on our food system. WebMinette has also been a member of NFU Governance Board and served as NFU Deputy President for four years from 2014 to 2018, before being elected as president in February What we are seeing played out and its showing more with fish is that groupage is really difficult. We wanted government to put its money where its mouth was. UKICE: We talked a bit earlier about the establishment of the Department for International Trade. It runs, I think, central government and its departments for under a month. I think the commitment was to get over 80% of the trade done in the term of this Parliament. Stephen Sackur talks to Minette Batters, So, that was the conversation, literally, with Theresa May she hadnt realised how complex SPS was. So, for us to have stayed on the fence without a position would have, I think, looked quite extraordinary. He said at our conference that it would be disastrous for farmers to have a no deal. minette batters Michael Gove was perhaps not in his most ideal Cabinet seat, but I think he did manage to rebrand himself with what had been deemed to be a graveyard department, to the benefit of the department. Weve legislated to achieve net zero, but there is so much that can be achieved through new policy thinking as to what that looks like, and ultimately, our opportunity to influence European thinking. Defra has obviously got form on implementation challenges, after trying to roll out what, on the face of it, was an easier payment scheme in the mid-2000s. Five generations of her family have run the farm but, like the new NFU president, she is the first woman to take the reins. UK in a Changing Europe (UKICE): You have a Conservative leadership battle that ends up with Theresa May becoming Prime Minister. How does it feel for the industry? The novella is based on the 1908 murder of Caroline Luard. Walters joined IPC Magazines as a sub-editor in 1972 and became an editor of Woman's Weekly Library the following year. With Theresa May, it was about trying to say, Were here, dont forget agriculture, because its going to be the complex area. Walters's second novel, The Sculptress, which was inspired in part by an encounter Walters had as a volunteer prison visitor,[2] won the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award. MB: No, its a massively significant issue. Did you think, I need this like a hole in the head, I could just go back to my farm and live a quiet life, rather than get stuck into this political morass? The NFU wanted MPs to have more say on trade of agrifood. I thought, Gosh, were leaving the CAP and what is this? As the May Government was starting to develop its vision of its Brexit, we had ministers, not least Liam Fox, talking about doing trade deals with the US, and the big summer 2017 bust-up over chlorinated chicken. So, that was really compelling. What was your expectation about how the Government would involve farming representatives in the development of their position on Brexit, going forward? In competition with works by other best-selling authors, such as Ruth Rendell, Maeve Binchy and Joanna Trollope, Chickenfeed has won two awards as the best novella in the 'Quick Reads' genre. My meeting with the Prime Minister in October last year, 2020, was absolutely pivotal in getting the Trade and Agriculture Commission over the line. Minette Batters, who is the president of the National Farmers Union (NFU) of England and Wales and has been called the most powerful farmer in the UK, was Its only when commodity prices are impacted, and the future support mechanism is changed- if that isnt right, that is when things will start to erupt, and that is what weve got to try and avoid. But I think, as the farming unions, we were all in the same place of wanting an approach that kept the UK internal market functioning fairly, and that there werent winners and losers. Get personalized recommendations, and learn where to watch across hundreds of Minette Batters net worth Feb, 2023 - People Ai Worst of all, you didnt know whether you had a market. UKICE: Were you at all worried that he seemed to be establishing a rather surprisingly good relationship with the green lobby, who I think probably had a similar, oh my God, moment when he was appointed. WebMinette Batters is known for Midlands Today (1964), Kay Burley @Breakfast (2019) and Sky News Today (2001). Set in the 14th century at the time of the bubonic plague, The Last Hours took several years to research and write. MB: No more than the rest of Europe did. UKICE: But they still prioritised doing deals with the US, though maybe receded slightly. I think they were clearly split though. Minette was the first crime/thriller writer to win three major prizes with her first three books. The dexterity of the human hand was essential. Dont forget, Michael Gove did not hold back in this arena, he is well documented and publicised. Or was that something you thought was a big opportunity? Did you target any of the backbenchers who were holding out? I guess we needed to be able to get our point of view across, recognising that it didnt necessarily fit that well with the mantra of Brexit is great, because its about cheaper food, cheaper clothes, which had been the mantra. Britain's most powerful farmer says dad would be Weve got to be able to look at, actually, how we enable these growers to have access to the workforce that they need. We were put under a lot of pressure at various times to be part of the Peoples Vote, and call for another referendum. He knew the Department inside out; he knew farming well. UKICE: You dont represent farmers in Northern Ireland, because theyre represented by the Ulster Farmers Union. Movies. MB: I still think that is undecided, effectively. Minette Batters: Jeremy Clarkson is good for farmers, but Boris So, thats what we did in that very first instance. We had a lot of members who were saying, Youre going to have to take a position. UKICE: Did you have any qualms about becoming NFU President in the middle of this process? Some of which, like David Frost, its been impossible to meet. Although weve left the EU, weve left transition, we havent achieved trade at scale with the rest of the world, in any shape or form, nor have the aid schemes changed or been reduced yet. Its also so complex, this area. Thats what I remember most, nobody saying anything. Having worked through the technical detail and this is where I think Michael came into play this became quite an obvious solution. They have two sons, Roland and Philip. So, Liam Fox was obviously very engaged at that time as Secretary of State at DIT on the opportunities of global trade. You were planting crops and you were making business decisions, having no idea whether you had a market or not. Our focus was always based on what agriculture needed. But he was reshuffled when Boris Johnson came in. But ultimately, there were two sides to all of this, and the UK wasnt the only party in the negotiations. Has this led to a fundamental change in the relationship between the NFU and the governments of the different parts of the UK? [2] Walters spent a year at the Abbey School in Reading, Berkshire, before winning a Foundation Scholarship at the Godolphin boarding school in Salisbury. MB: Well, it was well known, my constant mantra on no deal being catastrophic for farmers. I think, again, we need to be looking at producing more here. So, he did, in the early days, in 2019, sign up to the importance of the Trade and Agriculture Commission, writing in ink that he agreed with the concept and would look to establish such a body. MB: I think it was a phenomenal rebrand for the department, really. But we had to get this right. Her novels are often set against real backgrounds and real events to draw her readers into the reality of what she is writing about. It was never going to be, for them, the same as remaining part of the single market. But does the farming industry feel that its adapting okay, or are there surprising new challenges, unanticipated challenges, emerging? Lovely to listen while running through Oxfordshire farms. That extraordinary feeling. Or did they think it was just a completely unacceptable attempt to cherry-pick the single market? National Farmers' Union president Minette Batters has urged ministers to tackle an absolute crisis in the food sector, saying that she is determined to solve this situation. The Australian head negotiator heads up the Trans-Pacific negotiations as well. Brexit Witness Archive - Minette Batters - UK in a changing Europe That takes me back to the point where I said that trade policy is so complex, its dull as ditch water, and so many people, politically, had not got to grips with the massive challenge, particularly the issues we would see on the island of Ireland. And everybody was adamant that we could not have a border on the island of Ireland. And we established some principles of what we were looking for, going forward, whether it was Leave or Remain. UKICE: Weve heard about asparagus rotting in the fields, strawberries unpicked, daffodils unpicked. UKICE: We saw the very hostile reaction from EU political leaders to Chequers, but I wondered whether you got any sense from your sister bodies in France, Denmark, Netherlands, places that were concerned about UK lowering standards and the implications for that on agri-food farming, that they thought Chequers was quite a clever wheeze? Minette Batters Straight away she ruled out being part of the Single Market, and we had those big speeches at Lancaster House, Mansion House, that were hard-line Brexit positions. Her second novel, The Sculptress, which was inspired in part by an encounter Walters had as a volunteer prison visitor, won the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award. MB: Yes. That isnt going to happen overnight, because weve actively pushed people away from doing those jobs. And we got that. MB: No, it wasnt. Walters describes herself as an exploratory writer who never uses a plot scheme, begins with simple premises, has no idea 'whodunit' until halfway through a story, but who remains excited about each novel because she, along with her reader, wants to know what happens next.
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