London (Parliament Politic Magazine) – Rishi Sunak’s involvement in a farming protest sparks worry as he stands with a group skeptical of net zero and climate change.
Rishi Sunak observed a protest alongside a group that has posted conspiracy theories about climate change and campaigns against net zero. The prime minister has been blamed for “pandering to extremists” by farmers and wildlife groups, who have requested him to “listen to reason and logic” rather than conspiracy theories.
Sunak has been constructing a concerted effort to enhance his party’s standing in rural areas after polling revealed that most countryside seats will likely be lost to Labour and the Liberal Democrats at the next general election. Last week, he delivered the keynote address at the National Farmers’ Union conference, where he informed farmers, “I have your back.”
On Friday, he observed a farmers’ protest against the Welsh Labour government, which suggests bringing in a new payment scheme in which farmers will have to demonstrate that 10% of their land is woodland and 10% is a quality habitat for wildlife. He appeared alongside farmer Gareth Wyn Jones and stood next to placards emblazoned with the logo for the campaign “No Farmers, No Food.”
Wyn Jones is a leading advocate of the campaign, which was formed and is run by James Melville, a GB News pundit and communications consultant.
Sunak and Andrew RT Davies, the Welsh Conservatives leader, joined the protest, telling those assembled with their tractors that they had been “treated as Labour’s laboratory.” Speaking to Wyn Jones, he expressed the new subsidies scheme was “absolutely not right, the impact it will have on your jobs, your livelihoods, your incomes and food production around the country. It’s simply wrong.”
The No Farmers, No Food campaign is anti-net-zero and has shared conspiracy theories about climate change action. At the same time, Melville has questioned the effects of climate breakdown and shared conspiracy theories about net zero. Its manifesto accuses the UK government of having an “obsession with net zero” and calls for it to end climate measures.
Craig Bennett, CEO of the Wildlife Trusts, conveyed that the prime minister’s appearance at the protest was “deeply worrying,” adding: “Rather than pandering to extremists who don’t know what they’re talking about, Sunak should be talking to the farmers who are doing their utmost to alleviate biodiversity loss and the impacts of climate change. It would be nice if the prime minister paid more attention to science, reason, and logic.”
Arable farmer Martin Lines, CEO of the Nature-Friendly Farming Network, said: “We already see significant impacts to our businesses and food production because of climate change, and all the science says it will get significantly worse if we don’t reduce emissions. I find it very disappointing that the prime minister has gone to a protest for a group where one of their key asks is no to net zero measures.”
A government representative did not discourse the claims but commented: “We are on the side of farmers and – just this week – we announced a major new package of support for rural communities to protect British farming for the next generation.
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“This includes the most extensive grant offer for farmers in the coming financial year, expected to total £427m, including an unprecedented funding package for technology and productivity schemes.