Family Farming in Northern Ireland
Debate between Carla Lockhart and Tim Farron(4 days, 21 hours ago)
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Carla Lockhart
The hon. and learned Member is right; the policy is stifling growth. As I have said before, farmers want to advance and grow, and they want to spend money.
Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
The hon. Lady is making an important point. To follow up on the previous intervention, I wonder whether she has noticed in Northern Ireland, as I have in Cumbria, that farmers are holding money back. If they need a drystone wall fixing, they are not paying for that. If they need a new tractor, they are not investing in it. If they need to upgrade a barn for animal welfare purposes, they are not doing it. The policy is damaging not only farms but the rural communities that service those farms, and, as the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim (Jim Allister) said, constricting growth.
Carla Lockhart
I agree with the hon. Member. I need to give way to the leader of my party at this point.