'A golden opportunity' - Shrewsbury MP praises county show success
A Shropshire MP has praised last weekend's county show that was celebrating 150 years of taking place.
Julia Buckley, Labour MP for Shrewsbury, said the event gave her ‘a golden opportunity’ to reach out to the farming community.
The event, in its 150th year, attracted thousands to the West Mid Showground, and featured vintage tractors, shire horses, a monster truck display, a cookery stage, and a fly-past by a World War II Lancaster bomber.
“It really was a fantastic event,” said Mrs Buckley. “There was so much to enjoy. But it also gave me a chance to reach out to our farming community and to discuss some big issues with the keynote speaker at the show, NFU President Tom Bradshaw.
“He and I talked at length about the Government’s new trade deals with India and the United States, and also the Sustainable Farming Initiative, including ideas around what a renewed version of this might look like.
“Mr Bradshaw and I also discussed changes to the Inheritance Tax and Agricultural Property Relief, and I’m delighted to say we discovered we had quite a lot of common ground. I also explained that the Government’s re-set of our relationship with the European Union could be of real benefit to farmers – and I promised I’d get more detail on this for him.
“So not only was it a fabulous show but it offered me this golden opportunity to reach out to the amazing farming community that does so much for our country.”
