More musings from Andrew Edwards:
Earlier today I mentioned that Mike Nattrass had been absent from the final vote of yesterday at the Strasbourg plenary session of Europarl due to an issue concerning concerning the EU directive on the size of battery hen cages.
One of my contacts within the EFD group has now told me that their is a very serious issue here, one that will grossly effect the viability of the UK's egg producing sector.
Some of you will recall that the EU introduced Directive on the minimum size of the cages used by battery hen farmers. The Directive was to become effective as from January 1st, 2012.
The EU forced the UK to comply, so UK producers have spent millions (I'm aware that one producer who has invested 10 million plus) on these better conditions for chickens.
But now, the EU, having given member countries 10 years in which to comply, has now stated that those who have done, SOD ALL, should get more time to comply.
Why does this matter? Well take the Spanish egg producers. Almost to a man they have not complied with the Directive, and will now be allowed to continue to use those nasty little cages filled with pecked chickens (and salmonella) for an indefinite period. In bald economic terms this means that continental produces, such as those from Spain, will be able to undercut UK producers by up to 15p per dozen, maybe more, because they have not invested in the the capital outlay (bank overdraft) to update their infrastructure.
So yet again I find myself saying well done to Mike Nattrass (I'm given to understand that Nikki Sinclaire has been working with MN on this matter).
Given all of this, the question that needs to be asked is this: Why is it that the two West Midlands MEP's who no longer sit amongst Spivboy's seedy EFD group are the ones raising this issue? After all, the majority of UKIP's MEP's represent rural areas of the country so why have they not been jumping up and down in outrage at this situation. Two of those MEP's, Dartmouth and Trevor Coleman, are based in Devon and are supposed to represent the SW region. And, as everybody knows, the SW is one of Britain's premier agricultural areas. Wake up you two sleepwalkers (and others), and give your constituents a little actual support. Just for once! How about asking Mike Nattrass how to go about it, or even, what you can do to help!
[I could ask Spivboy why, yet again, he sees fit to ignore an issue of vital importance to our farming sector. But to be honest it would only be a waste of time. Wouldn't it Spivboy???? BTW, it seems that the reason for Spivboy missing that important vote on fisheries, was because he had put an appearance on the BBC (Any Questions?) before his duties to Britain's beleaguered fishermen!?]
Oh to see a little backbone amongst the other Ukip MEP's. For as things stand, only Mike and Nikki seem to have thrown off their apathy and fear. You could say, Whilst the other Turkeys were voting for Christmas Mike and Nikki were helping the chickens vote for bigger cages.
Earlier today I mentioned that Mike Nattrass had been absent from the final vote of yesterday at the Strasbourg plenary session of Europarl due to an issue concerning concerning the EU directive on the size of battery hen cages.
One of my contacts within the EFD group has now told me that their is a very serious issue here, one that will grossly effect the viability of the UK's egg producing sector.
Some of you will recall that the EU introduced Directive on the minimum size of the cages used by battery hen farmers. The Directive was to become effective as from January 1st, 2012.
The EU forced the UK to comply, so UK producers have spent millions (I'm aware that one producer who has invested 10 million plus) on these better conditions for chickens.
But now, the EU, having given member countries 10 years in which to comply, has now stated that those who have done, SOD ALL, should get more time to comply.
Why does this matter? Well take the Spanish egg producers. Almost to a man they have not complied with the Directive, and will now be allowed to continue to use those nasty little cages filled with pecked chickens (and salmonella) for an indefinite period. In bald economic terms this means that continental produces, such as those from Spain, will be able to undercut UK producers by up to 15p per dozen, maybe more, because they have not invested in the the capital outlay (bank overdraft) to update their infrastructure.
So yet again I find myself saying well done to Mike Nattrass (I'm given to understand that Nikki Sinclaire has been working with MN on this matter).
Given all of this, the question that needs to be asked is this: Why is it that the two West Midlands MEP's who no longer sit amongst Spivboy's seedy EFD group are the ones raising this issue? After all, the majority of UKIP's MEP's represent rural areas of the country so why have they not been jumping up and down in outrage at this situation. Two of those MEP's, Dartmouth and Trevor Coleman, are based in Devon and are supposed to represent the SW region. And, as everybody knows, the SW is one of Britain's premier agricultural areas. Wake up you two sleepwalkers (and others), and give your constituents a little actual support. Just for once! How about asking Mike Nattrass how to go about it, or even, what you can do to help!
[I could ask Spivboy why, yet again, he sees fit to ignore an issue of vital importance to our farming sector. But to be honest it would only be a waste of time. Wouldn't it Spivboy???? BTW, it seems that the reason for Spivboy missing that important vote on fisheries, was because he had put an appearance on the BBC (Any Questions?) before his duties to Britain's beleaguered fishermen!?]
Oh to see a little backbone amongst the other Ukip MEP's. For as things stand, only Mike and Nikki seem to have thrown off their apathy and fear. You could say, Whilst the other Turkeys were voting for Christmas Mike and Nikki were helping the chickens vote for bigger cages.
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