Backing The NFU Campaign for a Fair Milk Price

At AJ Welton Dairy farm. Picture taken from the Rugby Advertiser

Dairy farmer, who work their fingers to bone to produce the milk we use, have been once again told they will be paid less for the milk they sell to retailers.

In the last two weeks Robert Wiseman Dairies, owned by Müller Dairies, Arla Foods UK, the UK subsidiary of Arla Foods Amba, as well as Dairy Crest, announced cuts to their milk prices paid to farmers as of August 1 of 1.7ppl, 2.0ppl and 1.65ppl respectively, following further significant cuts in recent months. 

Dairy farmers lose on average 11p for every litre of milk they produce. This is not sustainable especially since retailers make on average a profit of 34p per litre of milk they sell. I am backing the NFU as they call on the retailers to ditch their plan to cut 2p per litre from the price paid to milk producers.

Dairy farmers rise at 4am everyday, 365 days a year to milk the cows that provide the milk we use in our tea, baking and cereals. All we are asking is that the retailers pay them a fair and sustainable price.

The NFU (National Farmers Union) have declared that a failure to stop the rise will result in targeted demonstrations outside processors and retailers. They are also threatening to mobilise the public with a concerted consumer campaign to help them understand the crisis facing the dairy industry.

All of this co-ordinated action would be designed to put pressure and bring shame on the retailers and processors who have caused this crisis in the British dairy industry.”

I am calling on Rugby’s MPs (Mark Pawsey and Jeremy Wright) to raise the issue with Government and push for a voluntary code of best practice in contracts, to bring some balance to the relationship between farmers and processors.

My thoughts on High Speed Rail

By omitting it from the recent Queen’s speech, the Government has quietly kicked their flagship transport policy, High Speed 2 (HS2), into the long grass. I’m reluctant to call the ditching of this policy a U-turn, as trains find that particular manoeuvre impossible.

HS2 was always destined to fail. Per mile, the £29bn cost equates to five times that spent by the French on the Paris-Strasbourg line in 2007. Money would be better used for electrification of the Midlands main line and improving our creaking road network. For Rugby, HS2 means reduced frequency of existing trains while it bypasses our town completely.

The arguments over transport speed and service are of course secondary to the massive destruction of the Warwickshire countryside HS2 would bring. Ripping asunder historic landscapes and obliterating communities as it goes, areas of outstanding natural beauty and historic woodland would be lost forever.

The imminent death of the HS2 project shows the power of democracy. Although the nation shows no enthusiasm for this vanity project of the metropolitan elite, the building of HS2 is still official policy for all three main political parties. Fortunately the power of strong, reasoned arguments seems to be winning out and HS2 is hitting the buffers.

A Big Thank You

Dear All,

I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for re-electing me as your Borough Councillor on Thursday, 3rd May. I am naturally honoured and delighted to have been given the chance to act as your voice at the Town Hall for the next four years.

The election was tough and competitive. Despite this, the contest was fought amicably, never once descending into personal attacks or mudslinging. I thank all of my fellow candidates for fighting fair campaigns. I believe the last few weeks have been a good example of democracy in action.

Election campaigns are never fought alone. I was fortunate enough to have help at this election from generous members of our community. There are too many of them to list here, but they know who they are, and they should also know just how grateful I am for their contribution. I also must thank my wife, Deepah, who has been unwavering in her support as I have spent the last few weeks working around the clock on my campaign.

The benefit of an election campaign is that I get to meet more of you than I would do normally. Many of you raised important local problems and I will now be using my re-election to address your concerns. I will report back on my progress with my regular UPDATE newsletters.     

Remember, I am your Councillor, elected to represent your interests. If you have any issues that you would like to discuss then please feel free to email or telephone me on the contact details given below.

Yours sincerely,

Cllr. Howard Roberts

Independent Councillor for Dunsmore Ward

Election Result - Dunsmore Ward

Dunsmore Ward - Declared

• COX Doreen - Labour Party Candidate - 460
• DAVIES Suzanne Louise - Liberal Democrats - 324
• FRANCIS Graham Lawrence - The Conservative Party Candidate - 1058 - ELECTED
• LOWE Ian Stanley - The Conservative Party Candidate - 1033 - ELECTED
• O`DWYER Beatrice Josephine - Liberal Democrats - 304
• ROBERTS Howard David - Independent - 1281 - ELECTED
• SPIERS Ian - The Conservative Party Candidate - 868

Turnout - 39.48%

A letter to my electorate.

Dear Elector,

Since you elected me four years ago to represent Dunchurch and Knightlow, I have done my very best to deserve the trust you placed in me, by working hard and reporting back to you regularly with newsletters. I have very much enjoyed doing battle on your behalf, whether in minor skirmishes: like fighting to retain post offices in Dunchurch and Stretton; pushing to have brownfield sites built on before Greenfield ones; developing an award scheme to honour the unsung heroes of our villages; or major campaigns like fighting to save services at St. Cross Hospital or the battle to stop a national change in the planning meaning a presumption in favour of development

None of these issues have been even remotely party political. In fact, as most of you know, party is an irrelevance in Local Government. You elect someone who takes the job seriously and can do it effectively and I can fairly claim to have dealt promptly and positively with every general and individual case brought to me. So I hope to have repaid the trust that many of you placed in me.

Being a Borough Councillor is not about waving a party flag. It carries serious responsibilities and requires sustained hard work, because the quality of the lives we lead in our beautiful villages depends on pro-active, determined representation. In addition, being your voice is impossible in practice, unless I tell you what I am doing and give you means to contact me. For that reason I  personally deliver every newsletter to over 2,500 homes in 8 villages.

Please note that there are three seats up for grabs in this election. You can exercise party preference whilst also electing an effective Independent Councillor who will ensure rural power and influence remains within the community.

Naturally, I should be very honoured and delighted if you chose to re-elect me, because I very much enjoy the job, but my chances are 50-50 and so it really boils down to a case of “Choose me or lose me” and on May 3rd that choice is yours.

Yours sincerely,

Howard Roberts

The election campaign so far...

It's been a hectic few weeks as I have written and produced my literature, delivered leaflets, knocked on doors and dealt with the inevitable casework that comes from a campaign.

The response has been very positive. Voters in this ward know me; again and again I have been told, "you're the only one who does anything around here" which is always great to hear.

The fact I am an Independent candidate has also gone down very well. There is an appetite for non-party representation in order to give the rural areas a strong voice at the Town Hall.

Whether I am successful on May 3rd depends on transferring the positive noises I am hearing into real votes. It's always difficult to guess an outcome at this stage, but I'll keep working hard and see what happens.

A CONTRACT WITH MY ELECTORATE

Trust in politics is often described as being at an all time low. In order to try and combat this "trust deficit" I am offering the people of Dunsmore a contract as a basis for my re-election. This contract sets out six promises that I will keep if the voters stand by me on May 3rd. If I do not keep to my promises then I invite the electorate to pass judgement at the next election.