Farmers concerned about cheaper imports to protest outside parliament

Campaign groups Save British Farming and Fairness for Farmers have organised a new protest (Photo: Fairness for Farmers/Facebook)
Campaign groups Save British Farming and Fairness for Farmers have organised a new protest (Photo: Fairness for Farmers/Facebook)

Farmers concerned about cheaper food imports are set to stage a new protest outside the Houses of Parliament later this month.

Campaign groups Save British Farming and Fairness For Farmers said they wanted to "bring the countryside to the lawmakers in parliament".

The protest surrounds three key demands: A ban on substandard food imports, a ban on 'dishonest' labelling and more measures to boost British food security.

The protest will start from 6pm on Monday 25 March, both groups confirmed, with farmers able to register their interest online.

It comes after hundreds of farmers staged a go-slow tractor protest in Canterbury earlier this month as concerns over cheaper food imports and government policy grows.

Save British Farming, which organised the Canterbury protest with Fairness for Farmers, said their mission was to ensure that British farming was 'at the forefront of UK industries of the future'.

"British food producers [need] to benefit from the opportunities and returns afforded by collaborative working and the fourth-industrial revolution.

"Thereby to enable British producers, in rising to global challenges to continue providing the foundations of active, healthy lives by making sure people have access to a wide choice of affordable, ethically produced, high-quality food."

Geoffrey Philpott, a cauliflower farmer in East Kent, said the protest in Canterbury was mainly centred on the need to ban sub-standard imports.

“I am proud to have a Union Jack on all my produce, but why is it foreign produce that is packed in the UK can have a Union Jack on it?" he asked.

"The only reason is to deceive the public into believing it’s the healthiest and safest food you can buy."

He said food security was another top issue. "I hope to be farming for many years to come, but if things don’t change, I won’t be and I won’t be employing the fourteen people who work for me.

"Then we will be reliant on foreign produce that will not have the high standard of UK production. Once that happens, we could be held to ransom over pricing.

"Let’s hope people wake up quickly and support British agriculture so I can continue to farm for many years to come and supply healthy, safe produce for UK people.”

Elsewhere, in Wales, over 10,000 farmers took to the streets of Cardiff due to rising anger at the Welsh government's vision for the industry.