Professor believes Gove can inject momentum to farming cause

The Government has been too slow to deliver a coherent post-Brexit vision for the future of agriculture but the return of Michael Gove to the Cabinet may inject the sorely needed momentum that the industry needs, Professor Wyn Grant said.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove is set to attend the Great Yorkshire Show tomorrow. Picture by Victoria Jones/PA Wire.Environment Secretary Michael Gove is set to attend the Great Yorkshire Show tomorrow. Picture by Victoria Jones/PA Wire.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove is set to attend the Great Yorkshire Show tomorrow. Picture by Victoria Jones/PA Wire.

A member of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society’s Farmer Scientist Network, Prof Grant hosted a Brexit debate in association with farm business consultants Andersons on day one of the Great Yorkshire Show.

Speaking to The Yorkshire Post beforehand, he said he expected Mr Gove’s recent appointment as Environment Secretary, following a failed Tory leadership bid last year, to give farming some longed for “clout” in Westminster discussions.

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Mr Gove, who will attend the show tomorrow, has largely been welcomed by the farming industry since joining the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and he has subsequently hired Thirsk and Malton MP, Kevin Hollinrake, as his parliamentary private secretary.

Professor Wyn Grant, a member of the Farmer Scientist Network.Professor Wyn Grant, a member of the Farmer Scientist Network.
Professor Wyn Grant, a member of the Farmer Scientist Network.

Over a year on from the Brexit vote, Prof Grant, who majors in politics at Warwick University, said: “Defra has been rather slow to get its act together. Now the government is going to have this agriculture bill, we don’t know when it is going to be introduced, but it really is the most important piece of domestic legislation since 1947 so it’s very important to get that right.

“I hope with the change of Minister and some of the new hires that Defra is making, we are going to get a bit more momentum now, because they really lacked the capacity to do the job and that’s why they have started hiring extra policy advisers because the department has taken a big hit in terms of staff numbers and expertise.”

On Mr Gove’s appointment, he added: “Whatever anyone thinks about Michael Gove, he is quite energetic and I think he will give a bit more dynamic to the situation and give a sense of direction which has been lacking under the last two secretaries of state. He’s a prominent member of the Government so he has got some clout to push the case.

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“Defra doesn’t often get the very high calibre ministers and he has obviously been out in the cold for a while but he is still someone who is pretty high profile therefore I think that will help the industry a bit to get its case across in government.”

Professor Wyn Grant, a member of the Farmer Scientist Network.Professor Wyn Grant, a member of the Farmer Scientist Network.
Professor Wyn Grant, a member of the Farmer Scientist Network.

Mr Hollinrake is convinced Mr Gove is the right man for the job.

The North Yorkshire MP said: “I think Michael Gove will be a fantastic champion for the sectors, because I think he is nobody’s fool, a strong voice and a huge intellect.

“I have no doubt in the meetings I’ve had, that I have got his ear on issues he feels we need to address and I will continue to do that. I think he has picked the brief up very quickly. He is going to be a very strong voice for agriculture and fishing in the coming negotiations. There is no stronger voice in the Cabinet that we could have asked for than Michael Gove.

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“This is a fantastic person to represent the sectors and I’m very excited to see what new policy we bring forward.”

Ross Murray, president of the Country, Land and Business Association (CLA), said the fact that Mr Gove was attending the show was “really good news for Yorkshire” and “underlines the fact that the politicians are taking due recognition of what’s going on”.

Mr Murray said: “He’s highly intelligent, very challenging - it’s not going to be, by any means, an easy ride. He will expect all arguments about use of public money to be made in economically rational terms and so I think we have to be really careful about not being self-serving in our arguments. We have got to think about the public interest and the national interest and in terms of agriculture going forward and the basis for which we are supported in the future, I think we want to present agriculture as a strategic interest and industry for this country and we have got to persuade Michael Gove that it is worthy of support going forward, and our starting point really is that the budget shouldn’t be reduced.”

Minette Batters, deputy president of the National Farmers’ Union, said: “I am really heartened by him. He is a big hitting politician, he’s not afraid to take on the challenges and he comes to the table with an open mind.

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“I don’t want to present our industry as this is what we want, but this is what we have to offer and I think that’s how we approach the conversation (with him).

“I don’t think you go to Gove with just the farming view. That’s not enough. He needs to see the whole story.”