Yahoo News Farming and rural issues front and centre of Alnwick general election hustings
Candidates campaigning to be the new North Northumberland MP faced questions on rural life ahead of the election.
Five of the seat's eight candidates faced questions from the public at a hustings event in Alnwick on Wednesday. The event, organised by the Alnwick branch of Friends of the Earth and the Northumberland Wildlife Trust, focused on environmental issues.
The would-be MPs fielded queries around the future of the environment and the impact of Green policies on the countryside. Labour's David Smith outlined the party's commitment to farmers set out in the manifesto.
The charity boss said: "I have two kids and I want them to grow up in a beautiful, natural environment. We talk about environmental land management in our manifesto.
"Rewilding and biodiversity net gain is something we focus on, but it has to to come alongside food security. It is not an answer to keep importing huge swathes of food.
"I have seen some great examples of this, fantastic examples in North Northumberland such as at West Chevington. It's about balance - we need to live in balance with nature, but farming need to be able to work financially for farmers.
"What we can do is absolutely get behind our farming communities and acknowledge the fact that we want as much food produced within the country as possible. Labour are committed to 50% of all public food procurement - so in prisons, hospitals and schools - will come from local agriculture."
Elsewhere, Green Party candidate Jan Rosen warned that the public may have to be willing to pay more for food to support the country's farms.
He said: "We need to go directly to farmers - when we buy it from supermarkets, a lot of their profit is siphoned off. Their hardship comes from the fact that we want milk for £1 and cheap meat.
"We have to understand there's a cost to that. We can try to stop climate change but we have to adapt to those changes."
"Ever since the industrial revolution we have taken more out of the environment than we give back. This leads to a loss of biodiversity. We need a fundamental approach to farming - what we do with uplands, we need rewilding and reforesting.
"Food security is important - we import food from all over the world. It's important for us to source local food from farmers.
Natalie Younes of the Liberal Democrats pledged to be an ally to the county's farmers.
She said: "I've met with quite a few farmers and had a conversation with Tom Bradshaw of the NFU (National Farmer's Union chief). There are 1,900 farms in Northumberland, it's important we get this right.
"We need to make sure we have a proper food strategy. We must get that right.
"We're great at producing food, that is the future. Farmers have had a really tough time with trade deals.
"We have lots of legislation about the quality of food that farmers must adhere to. We are then shopping that food out all over the world and importing food that isn't subjected to the same legislation. The quality we have got isn't the same as what we're exporting and our farmers are unable to compete, it's not a level playing field.
"Farmers will know I'm their ally - it's a tough job."
Conservative incumbent Anne Marie Trevelyan spoke of how advancements in offshore wind technology would help to protect the countryside.
She said: "In Northumberland some 15 years ago there was a lot of conversation about onshore wind. Offshore is much more effective, and the UK has led the world in trying to get the best out of nature's own resources.
"On a good day, we're generating 50% of our energy through renewables. The countryside is a great space to generate renewable energy, but one of the things we haven't done is the use of roofs in cities to use solar.
"Every flat roof that faces the sun should have solar panels on. We have to use our city spaces more effectively on the solar side."
And Independent MP Georgina Hill pledged to be a "local champion" for the area.
The Northumberland county councillor said: "If I was your local MP, I would be a local champion. I wouldn't go to Westminster and have the party whip tell me how to vote.
"Politicians are posturing and not really looking at the solution. There's short-term thinking because they're just looking about the next election and pushing targets back.
“I’m a Northumberland councillor who was born, lives and works in the area. I champion important issues and work to get things done."
The other candidates for the seat are Katherine Hales of Reform UK, Andrew Martin of the SDP and Independent Michael Joyce.
