Environment Secretary and opposite number speak to countryside conference on farming, rural crime and nature protection.
Labour has pledged to treat countryside communities with “respect” and tackle issues including housing and rural crime as the party spars with the Tories for the rural vote.
Polling suggests Labour is ahead of the Tories in their traditional heartlands but voters in some of the country’s most rural constituencies still think party leaders need to show more respect for their communities. Mr Barclay pointed to the new “sustainable farming initiative” to pay for nature-friendly farming such as clean water, habitats and healthy soils, equipment grants to boost productivity, labelling to better highlight British produce and extending the badger cull as policies supporting the sector.
And he said: “This election is a choice between people who live and represent and care about the countryside and those whose whole careers have been in inner cities, who perhaps visit, and if you look at what’s happening in Wales, what’s happening in their councils, are not in tune with rural communities”.
Acknowledging he is not from a countryside background, Mr Reed said: “People from urban areas – like me – will not tell people who live and work in the countryside how they should live their lives.”He pledged Labour would increase police patrols in towns and villages, adding: “We won’t accept the levels of GPS farm equipment theft and livestock worrying.And he told delegates: “We need more homes but they will not be built at the expense of the environment.
Labour is also committed to restoring nature and would deliver on a legal goal to halt the decline of species by 2030, and the UK’s international commitment to protect 30% of land and seas by the same date, he said.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
'Polluting' water firms will 'pay' if Labour get in, says shadow environment secretary'Polluting' water firms will 'pay' if Labour get in, shadow environment secretary Steve Reed has said.
Read more »
General election latest: Health secretary facing questions on Sky News as Tories pledge to bolster GPsThe Conservative government has pledged £1bn a year in a bid to increase the number of GP appointments in the UK. Watch our conversation with Health Secretary Victoria Atkins on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips from 8.30am.
Read more »
Tories 'should make Nigel Farage Home Secretary to reunite the Right'Jacob Rees-Mogg insisted the drastic step - as well as bringing back Boris Johnson as Foreign Secretary - is the 'only way' the party can avoid a disastrous defeat to Labour.
Read more »
Where do Labour and Tories stand on gender issues and trans rights?Lib Dems promise trans inclusion; Labour plans to streamline the gender recognition certificate; Conservatives pledge to reform the Equality Act as Reform promises to scrap it all together
Read more »
Both Labour and Tories are making promises but how do they intend to pay for them?Like millions of others, I’ll be glued to tonight’s television clash between Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer, but I won’t hold my breath on coming away much wiser about what each would do if elected Prime Minister.
Read more »
Just a third of voters trust Labour, and even fewer trust the ToriesPolling reveals the work politicians need to do to regain trust in British politics
Read more »