Conduct Of The Honourable Member For Hereford And Unfairness To Welsh Farmers

EDM number 987 in 1993-94, proposed by Nick Ainger on 30/03/1994.

That this House is outraged at the comments of the honourable Member for Hereford at a meeting at the Royal Hotel in Ross on Wye on 25th March to the effect that the Welsh are whingers; notes that the comments were made in response to a question about lower payment rates of arable aid for Welsh farmers compared with English farmers; believes that the payment of ú110 a hectare for cereals to Welsh farmers in the less favoured area and ú171 a hectare to Welsh farmers outside the less favoured area is absurd, divisive, unfair and discriminatory compared to the ú197 a hectare English farmers will receive, especially since Wales produces only two per cent. of the arable crops in England and Wales combined; congratulates the Welsh Arable Equality Group in its efforts to persuade the Government to treat Welsh farmers fairly; believes the honourable Member for Hereford should apologise immediately for his inflammatory comments; and calls on the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Secretary of State for Wales to agree forthwith to the establishment of a single arable payments scheme for Wales and England in order to end the injustice done to Welsh arable farmers.

This motion has been signed by a total of 30 MPs.