I have launched my latest campaign: to ensure Government and other public sector bodies prioritise purchasing what’s made in Britain, in particular emphasising Lincolnshire’s role as the foodbasket of the UK.
I want public bodies to prioritise produce and goods made in this country – it’s good for British business, good for job creation, and good for the environment. Backing Britain fuels our sense of national pride.
We must back our farmers, growers, food producers and manufacturers by ensuring that public bodies procure produce and goods made in Britain.
Given global events over which we have little control, we must do more to prioritise food security and so seek shorter supply chains, and we need manufacturing security too.
We just can’t become ever more reliant on “imported essentials.”
Lincolnshire is responsible for growing 30 per cent of the nation’s vegetables, producing 19 per cent of its poultry, 20 per cent of sugar beet, and 19 per cent of ornamentals and flowers.
South Holland is the centre of UK food production and logistics, with around a third of all national food freight distributed through our area.
Our county also boasts more Grade 1 agricultural land than any other in England, and so we simply must do more to back our farmers, growers and food firms by getting their products purchased throughout the public sector.
It’s clear that people support this common-sense approach too, with consumers increasingly demanding to know from where the food on their plates comes.
There is no good reason why Government and other public sector bodies shouldn’t prioritise buying British foods and other British goods.
That’s why I have asked ministers what more can be done, and I will use my role in Parliament to support all that’s made in Britain.
It’s time to back Britain by buying British.
Sir John Hayes
MP for South Holland and the Deepings.
