LOCAL MP Jesse Norman challenged the Leader of the House of Commons this week on the Government’s approach to rural areas and the countryside - and invited her to visit Herefordshire to see for herself the effect of its punitive policies.

Mr Norman, MP for South Herefordshire, observed that the Government’s policy towards rural areas was most striking.

“We have seen the family farm tax arising from the rise in national insurance,” Mr Norman said. “We have seen new compulsory purchase powers to seize farmland and the abrupt and unexpected end of the sustainable farming incentives scheme.

“The Government are simultaneously reducing farm incomes, threatening farm holdings and forcing the sale of family farms through their inheritance tax changes.

“I am sad to say that even the £35 million allocated by the previous Government to clean up the River Wye—one of the natural glories of this country—has been cut to just £1 million.

“The message is clear: do not be a farmer. Do not feed the country. Do not give us food security. Do not work every hour God sends, whatever the weather—we do not care.

“Will the leader come to visit some farmers in Herefordshire with me so that she can see the actual effect of these policies for herself?”

Meanwhile Ellie Chowns, MP for North Herefordshire, has written to the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs asking for urgent action after the government scrapped the Sustainable Farming Incentive with zero notice.

Dr Chowns said: "Scrapping the Sustainable Farming Incentive with zero notice has seriously damaged trust between farmers and government.

"Farmers in Herefordshire are leading the way in nature-friendly farming, but they need government support, not policy U-turns that leave them in the lurch.

"Farmers need stability, not chaos. The Sustainable Farming Incentive must be reinstated, and long-term support for sustainable farming secured."