South Down MP for South Down, Margaret Ritchie has voiced her concern about the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (DEFRA) attitude towards the European Union following the Secretary, Amber Rudd’s, speech at the Conservative Conference.
Ms Ritchie, a member of the EFRA Select Committee said: “The scant allusions to the European Union made by the Secretary of State were negative and I found them concerning.
“For farmers and fishermen in my own constituency of South Down and across the North, the EU has been invaluable in the level of grants and subsidies that it has provided.
“Ms Rudd’s references to ‘pointless regulation’ and the difficulty of ‘dealing with Brussels’ suggests an unwillingness to get the most out of the EU for our farmers, fishermen and the entire agricultural industry. The Secretary of State’s apparent Euroscepticism does our hardworking farmers and fishermen no favours.
“I will be raising this matter directly with the Minister.”
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