As one Defra agency appears to be finally learning the painful lessons of IT rollouts gone wrong, another seems to have walked into the same trap. Jim Paice appointed as farm Minister
JIM Paice, an MP whose life and political career have revolved around farming, has been confirmed as the new Agriculture Minister.
The 61-year-old Conservative MP for South East Cambridgeshire had held the post of Shadow Agriculture Minister in opposition since 2004. Prior to that he was an opposition spokesman for Agriculture between 1997 and 2001.
He served as a Parliamentary Private Secretary at MAFF for four years from 1989 and then briefly as Secretary of State for the Environment under the previous Tory Government.
The veteran MP, who still keeps cattle today, will now serve as Agriculture Minister in a department led by Caroline Spelman, who was appointed Secretary of State for Defra on Wednesday (May 12).
Before the election, Mr Paice promised a Tory Government would ‘put food production back to the top of the agenda’, symbolised by a pledge to put the ‘F’, for farming, back into the title of Defra.
Among his key policy pledges in the run up to the election was a commitment to implement a badger cull in England.
“We would hopefully get on with it almost immediately,” he told Farmers Guardian before the election. “We cannot go on with the absurd situation where we are killing more and more cattle every year and getting nowhere.”
He also pledged to introduce to proceed with plans set in motion by the previous Government to introduce a supermarket ombudsman and has signalled the Tories would push for far-reaching reform of the CAP.
He said the Conservatives ‘will reduce the burden of regulation and we will introduce honest country of origin food labelling’
After receiving a National Diploma in Agriculture in 1970, he became a farm manager and then farmer and contractor over the next decade.
He went on to become training manager at a company called Framlingham Management and Training Services between 1979–87 and then a director United Framlingham Farmers from 1989 to 1994.
He became an MP in 1987.
Readers' comments (4)
Gary Kirk | 14 May 2010 10:25 am
Absolutely brilliant. At last we have MP's who are looking after department they have worked in. Massive step in the right direction.
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John R Corsan | 14 May 2010 4:16 pm
I have to keep pinching myself to make sure I am not dreaming, that we now have two Governments Ministers who know about our industry. Good Luck to them, looking forward to seeing them sort out the RPA.
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Peter Brady - SETT | 14 May 2010 7:51 pm
Yes I agree - let's get on with it - especially dealing with Bovine TB in the Badger population
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John Smith | 26 May 2010 3:36 pm
I live in the Badger cull area of North
Pembrokeshire and I am against the eradication of badgers. I would accept if
not support a partial cull limited to those land owners who support it while vaccinating badgers for those land owners would could not morally or emotionally accept their enforced participation. To me it is not a question of either cattle or badgers. I do not want see cattle culled either. It has to be said that unlike badgers, male cattle are born to be killed within a relatively short time and dairy cows are not as far as I know often put out to pasture after their limited working life.
If all the badgers in the UK were eradicated it would not rid us of Bovine TB. Isn't it about time cattle farmers and their union demand that the government invest in the development of a viable vaccination for cattle and also obtain the sanction and support of the European community? Or would they actually prefer to continue to receive the compensation from the taxpayer whilst continuing to blame the badger?
I do not want to see cattle slaughtered unnecessarily and would rather less were killed and more were treated with greater dignity. No doubt somebody will call me a vegetarian tree hugger. I am not a vegetarian but would not take this as the
intended insult but as a compliment. If I were a vegetarian I would be helping to promote a reduction in global warning,
a healthier community, greater and cheaper food production and less starvation in the world.
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