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Tory minster skewered after New Zealand lamb comments

11 Jan 2023 2 minute read
Welsh lamb – on sale at Bodnant Welsh Food centre by Ian-S is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Welsh Liberal Democrat Senedd Member Jane Dodds has criticised a Conservative Minister for “insulting” Welsh farmers after he lauded the benefits of New Zealand lamb over those from different parts of the UK.

The Conservative Minister of State for International Trade, Lord Johnson, praised Kiwi lamb saying it was better for the environment to eat chops from the other side of the world than to eat those from elsewhere in the UK.

Responding to comments from Lord Hannan, Lord Johnson said, “…having a New Zealand lamb chop on your plate in the House of Lords restaurant is better for the environment than having one that comes from another part of the UK.”

Farmers leaders in Wales have criticised the UK Government’s deal with New Zealand and point out that imported lamb is produced to lower standards than our own food, using methods that are unacceptable in the here.

Indifference

The Liberal Democrats say that, in power, they would ensure that farming standards are guaranteed in trade deals and that Conservative indifference to farming communities is fuelling farmers to abandon the party in favour of the Liberal Democrats.

An annual poll by Farmer’s Weekly Magazine recently found that support for the Conservatives had dropped by 30% in the last two years across the UK to 42%, while support for the Liberal Democrats had grown by 14% to 23%.

“We already had to put up with the Conservatives selling our farmers down the river with the deeply unequal New Zealand and Australian trade deals, now another Minister is just rubbing salt into the wound,” Jane Dodds said.

“The Minister supposed to represent British people is commending New Zealand lamb over our own.

“Comments like these are yet another example of the Conservatives failing to understand or support our farmers. They serve only to undermine our farmers by failing to note the lower welfare standards for animals abroad.

“It is no surprise given the absolute indifference to our farming communities by the Conservatives that more and more farmers are abandoning them in favour of the Liberal Democrats.”


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Mab Meirion
Mab Meirion
1 year ago

It is some consolation to know that Wales has won a contest to stage the next food world cup, beating Italy, in 2026 I think…

Aled Rees
Aled Rees
1 year ago

God help british farmers with clowns like this in charge.maybe he could spend a week on an upland farm during lambing time,maybe in bad weather.tory immbecile.

Fi yn unig
Fi yn unig
1 year ago
Reply to  Aled Rees

This came from the ‘common sense’ party so i suppose we must take it as gospel truth that it is more sensible to get our meat from almost the furthest point away from us around the far side of the planet than from the local farm shop or butcher just down the road. I’ve spent my whole life thinking I was blessed with common sense and I’m devastated to find out that I was wrong. Thank you Tories for enlightening me.

Nobby Tart
Nobby Tart
1 year ago

Has Andrew RT Davies “slammed” this yet?
Why is he so quiet?

Fi yn unig
Fi yn unig
1 year ago
Reply to  Nobby Tart

Tonight, I saw a party political broadcast by the WELSH Conservatives. What followed was a few minutes of Sunak so RT didn’t even appear there either. Bizarre.

Kerry Davies
Kerry Davies
1 year ago
Reply to  Fi yn unig

Was that Sunak? I thought it was a new model Honda ASIMO.

Kerry Davies
Kerry Davies
1 year ago

I thought that this was an incredibly stupid thing for a politician to say, no matter what he believed but then I realised. This is Jo Johnson, Boris’s brother.

David
David
1 year ago

Welsh farmers now know they should NOT vote for the Conservative party after what Lord Johnson said.

Cathy Jones
Cathy Jones
1 year ago
Reply to  David

…yeah…and instead choose to throw in their lot not with Plaid Cymru but with the Liberal Democrats, the party that betrayed disabled people for a five-pence carrier bag charge in England.

Karl
Karl
1 year ago

Brexit was a opportunity to screw Welsh lambs protected status and profitability, for cheap imports. This is what the apparent majority wanted. More stupidity and blatant lies by the Tories obsessed with lanetary destruction for greed. They will be ll have us depending on distant food imports more than ever.

Charles Coombes
Charles Coombes
1 year ago

Hope the Farmer’s Union makes a big fuss! I prefer Welsh Lamb less travelled fresher and a better price!

Lord Montague Flange.
Lord Montague Flange.
1 year ago

The FUW might make a fuss, but the NFU are just the tories in green wellies, they’ll just go along with whatever tory head office says.

Lord Montague Flange.
Lord Montague Flange.
1 year ago

I would really like to know how lamb that has been transported from the other side of the planet can be better for the environment, than lamb from Wales.

Dai Ponty
Dai Ponty
1 year ago

Lets face it Welsh Tories are Traitors Quislings they hate everything about Wales they just want Wales to be another COUNTY OF ENGLAND the party they belong Tories are an now an ENGLISH NATIONALIST PARTY

Lord Montague Flange.
Lord Montague Flange.
1 year ago

Jane Dodds suffers from small country syndrome, apparently Wales is too small to warrant it’s own airport

Last edited 1 year ago by Lord Montague Flange.
Rhufawn Jones
Rhufawn Jones
1 year ago

Torïaid / Tories = gelynion y genedl / enemies of the nation.

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