Energy bills and flooding among farmers’ biggest concerns, Labour politician says

High energy bills and flooding are the biggest issues farmers say they’re facing in Peterborough, a Labour politician has said.

Steve Reed, Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, visited Park Farm in Thorney this week alongside Labour parliamentary candidate Andrew Pakes to meet farmers and the National Farmers’ Union (NFU).

“The single biggest issue they’re facing is the extremely big rise in energy bills,” Mr Reed told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) after the visit.

“It’s pushing a lot of them to the brink of bankruptcy, so they’re looking for support with energy prices.”

Labour would establish a publicly-owned clean energy company, GB Energy, it says, which would harness wind, wave, solar and nuclear power.

Mr Reed said he’d also like to see work on implementing flood defences sped up.

Mr Pakes said “food and farming are in our DNA in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire so it was great to bring Labour’s Shadow Farming Minister to the city”.

“We all need to be backing British farming whether that is stamping out fly-tipping, buying British food, investing in local flood management or helping the next generation of farmers to get on in the industry.”

Cross-party councillors pledge support to farmers

Peterborough City Council (PCC) has also pledged to support farmers with cross-party councillors voting in favour of recognising the “huge contribution made by our local farmers, growers, and the wider food and drink industry to the local economy, environment and rural communities”.

A motion brought to the council by Cllr Andy Coles (Conservatives, Fletton and Woodston) said food and drink at council-organised events should be “sourced in a way that allows local suppliers and growers to have the opportunity to bid to provide these services.”

It will also “consider ways to encourage residents, where possible, to shop locally, taking advantage of home-grown, affordable and nutritious produce, including meat, dairy, and plant-based options”, the motion says.

An earlier version had called on the council to commit to providing food sources from local suppliers and said that it should “always include meat and dairy, alongside plant-based produce”, but this was amended over concerns it could represent a restriction of trade.

The updated version passed unanimously at the final full council meeting before the election period.