Our farmers are fundamental to our communities, food security, and our environment. I want to give them a strong voice in parliament.
With 90% of our constituency agricultural land, if we are to preserve the countryside we all enjoy we need our farmers to thrive.
Locally, I want to work with our Police and Crime Commissioner and our local councils to tackle fly-tipping, hare coursing and vehicle and workshop theft.
- Our local councils need to do more - fly-tipping is being dealt with in less than 1% of cases and there are thousands of incidents a year. It's not acceptable that farmers across North and East Herts were hit 89 times last year, at huge cost, loss of time and damage to land.
- I'll be fighting for more support for farmers impacted by fly-tipping - and the continuation of the fund to help clearance works on private lands - and pushing our Councils on high profile prosecutions to change the perception amongst criminals and louts that they can get away with it.
Regionally, I want to work with other MPs to target the use of substandard imports in the public sector and other large organisations, so the supply chain favours British farmers earlier. I'll push our supermarkets because what is said at the top does not filter down to the buyers.
Nationally, I will campaign to ensure we do everything possible to boost our agri-exports by 30% by 2030. British produce is some of the best in the world and we should do everything possible to build access to other markets.
And every budget I'll fight for measures that recognise most farmers are not incorporated and typically do not benefit from measures that other small businesses get.
THE GEEKY BIT - WHY HAVING ME AS YOUR MP MAKES A DIFFERENCE
So much of what farmers have to deal with is imposed by statutory instrument - pieces of legislation that seldom get debated. They're just signed off by the Minister.
1000s are passed every year, they get fairly little scrutiny in government, and even less in Parliament. Only a handful or so have been rejected since WWII. You have close to zero chance of getting a statutory instrument withdrawn and they are unamendable so MPs and Peers can't help you. But these pieces of legislation can have huge impact on what you are permitted or required to do. I know how decisions are taken and how to get 'upstream' so this doesn't happen to our farmers.
To give our farmers a strong voice in Parliament, 'Vote Nikki' on Thursday 4 July.