Tag Archives: leena farhat

Welsh Conference Round-up – Part 2

By The Voice | Mon 4th March 2024 - 9:25 am

Welsh Liberal Democrats held their Conference in Cardiff this weekend. You can read part one of the round-up here.

Support for farmers

Welsh farmers have been completely done over by both the UK Conservative Government and the Welsh Labour Government in many ways in recent years, not least post Brexit trade deals. Conference turned its attention to the post Brexit reform of payments to farmers.

Conference called for a fairer and more workable farming payment scheme.

Last Wednesday thousands of farmers held a protest in Cardiff against the Welsh Government’s funding proposals, which included the controversial Sustainable Farming Scheme.

In their draft budget for the 2024 financial year, the Welsh Labour Government announced that they were cutting the Rural Affairs budget by 13%, equivalent to a loss of £62 million in funding.

Jane Dodds said:

Our stance as a party has always been to stand up for the interests of our farming communities here in Wales, and this still hasn’t changed.

I know from first-hand experience that many farmers earnestly support the desire to make nature-friendly farming the standard across Wales.

But when they are being presented with something as complex as the Sustainable Farming Scheme, these farmers are at the same time rightfully anxious about the prospect of transitioning.

We must offer them a viable and sustainable scheme that aims to build resilience and bolster thriving rural economies. Whilst at the same time prioritising the Welsh Language.

The current Sustainable Farming Scheme offered by Welsh Labour falls dramatically short of delivering these key priorities.

We cannot afford to alienate our farming community, particularly when they are willing to work with us in transitioning to a greener approach to farming.

Ynys Mon PPC Leena Farhat said:

We as a party recognise that our farms are the lifeblood of Wales, without them, we as a nation would be hopelessly lost.

It is concerning that Welsh Labour have failed to provide a comprehensive long-term plan for agriculture, a core sector of Wales, despite being in government for 25 years.

The future of the Welsh agriculture industry, and rural Wales as a whole, hinges on the presence of a fair, effective, and appropriate funding scheme.

Regrettably, the current Sustainable Farming Scheme, offered by this Welsh Labour Government, not only proves unworkable but also poses a threat to the future livelihoods of numerous families within the sector.

It is disheartening to witness our farmers being made scapegoats by Labour Ministers in Cardiff Bay, who repeatedly demonstrate a profound lack of understanding of rural areas’ needs.

Over the years, their governance has failed to address the fundamental challenges facing our agricultural communities.

The Tories’ claim to champion farmers’ interests is laughable, particularly given their readiness to sacrifice them in favour of expediting questionable trade deals.

Their track record hardly reflects a commitment to safeguarding the welfare of our farmers.

Farmers deserve sincere and transparent support.

They deserve politicians who prioritise their well-being and livelihoods over political expediency.

It is time for a change, a change that places the interests of our agricultural communities at the forefront of policy making.

Industrial strategy

Posted in News | Also tagged jane dodds and welsh liberal democrats | Leave a comment

4-5 April 2023 – catching up with the press releases…

By Mark Valladares | Wed 5th April 2023 - 11:15 pm

Social care funding halved: Elderly and disabled people will be the victims
Post-Brexit customs checks will mean more red tape for businesses
South Wales Police – Facial Recognition Technology Restart ‘Wrong Move’
Sunak must strip Scott Benton of the Conservative Whip

Social care funding halved: Elderly and disabled people will be the victims

Responding to reports that the social care reform budget has been halved, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

Elderly and disabled people will be the victims of the Conservatives’ decision to slash funding for recruiting care workers at a time of chronic staff shortages.

By damaging social care again, Rishi Sunak is also damaging our NHS. Patients stuck in hospital will face more delays in discharge, leading to longer delays in A&E and for operations. Only the Conservatives could damage people’s care and the nation’s health at the same time.

Liberal Democrats want a new Carer’s Minimum Wage to attract workers back to the social care sector and ease pressure on family carers, GPs and hospitals. It’s shocking that the Government refuses to back our fair deal for carers.

Post-Brexit customs checks will mean more red tape for businesses

Responding to the government’s announcement on the introduction of post-Brexit customs checks, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney said:

These new checks are only going to make trade between us and Europe harder. It’s staggering that the Conservatives looked at the chaos at Dover and said, ‘more of that please’.

The Government’s claims that these plans are going to ease trading chaos are downright dishonest. Let’s be clear: these proposals mean more checks and more red tape, not less – the last thing anyone wanted.

Businesses and the public have had enough of the Conservatives’ red tape and their botched deal with Europe. If you want to grow the economy, you have to fix our broken relationship with our closest neighbours.