A Labour Minister has been sharply criticised for refusing to attend a crucial meeting to hear farmers’ concerns with the Welsh Government’s proposal to force them to forfeit land for tree planting.
Last month saw thousands of farmers descend on the Welsh capital to protest at the Labour Welsh Government’s potential plan to force them to forfeit 20 per cent of their land for tree planting and other habitat schemes.
Monmouth MP and Welsh Secretary David Davies wrote to Lesley Griffiths, Minister for Rural Affairs, requesting a meeting to discuss farmers’ serious concerns.
She has now replied, refusing to attend such a meeting.
Mr Davies said: “It is absolutely disgraceful that the Labour Rural Affairs Minister is refusing a meeting with an an elected representative, who represents a rural constituency, to hear farmers’ growing anxiety that her government has caused.
“But that isn’t stopping the Labour Welsh Government from hypocritically chopping down 850,000 tonnes of wood on land that they own every year to sell.
"A sensible approach going forward is for the Labour government to grow trees on their own land, rather than force farmers to give up prime agricultural land for this purpose.”