Prominent pro-Brexit campaigner and former candidate for prime minister Andrea Leadsom is the new secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs.
She replaces Liz Truss, who has been promoted to the role of justice secretary.
Leadsom pulled out of the Tory leadership race on Monday (11 July), paving the way for Theresa May to become prime minister, and was previously minister for energy and climate change.
In her new role, she will be at the forefront of highly sensitive negotiations around the future of EU subsidies for British farmers.
She made headlines last year, when she admitted asking whether climate change was “real” when first appointed to DECC. She has also courted controversy with her support of fox hunting.
The MP for South Northamptonshire was first elected in 2010 after a career in financial services.
In 2007, in a blog on her website, Leadsom wrote about her desire to see British food & farming better promoted. “Well, how about seize the initiative and start to promote ‘British produce’ aisles in supermarkets?” she wrote. “How about promoting school trips to working farms? I heard recently of a group of 10 year olds who thought you had to kill a cow in order to milk it! Kids talking about British farming is a sure way to influence where the weekly housekeeping money gets spent. “How about farmers launching a campaign on healthy British food? Perhaps promote a ‘Mark’ that all ‘Healthy British Food’ carries on the label. That would surely get round the confusion over ‘country of origin’ labels.”
Reactions
Neil Parish, chairman of the Efra committee, said he was “very pleased” with the appointment of Leadsom, whom he backed during the Conservative leadership campaign. “He is looking forward to working closely with Mrs Leadsom in her new role,” a spokesman for the MP said.
NFU president Meurig Raymond said big decisions awaited Leadsom in her new role. “We need a simpler application process and improved delivery for BPS; we need a guarantee from government that agreements for farmers in agri-environment schemes will be honoured in full; we need a continuing commitment to the 25-year TB eradication strategy. And above all, we hope that Mrs Leadsom will champion British food and farming. Our industry has a great story to tell and it’s an industry that is optimistic about meeting the challenges ahead.”
Dairy UK congratulated Leadsom on her appointment. ”We look forward to building a strong working relationship with her and continuing our constructive collaboration with Defra officials,” said a spokewoman. ”The dairy industry has serious challenges ahead but also many opportunities and we ask Mrs Leadsom and her team to ensure a smooth and seamless transition for our industry throughout the Brexit negotiations.”
Other roles reshuffled
In other key government roles relevant to food & drink, Jeremy Hunt remains as health secretary, where he has been orchestrating the government’s approsch to obesity.
One healthy lobby source said of Hunt’s continued presence at the DH: ”If we are talking purely about the Childhood Obesity Strategy then it could be a good thing Hunt staying on. I think if it was a new secretary of state on top of everything else we would have drawn a line under any hope of it coming out before the autumn. At least Hunt staying on means that there is some continuity and hopefully all the work that the DH has been doing won’t have to start all over again, allowing the food and drink industry more time to get their guns out.”
Business secretary Savid Javid has gone to become communities secretary. He has swapped roles with Greg Clark, who becomes secretary of state in an enlarged and restructured department for business, energy and industrial strategy.
Meanwhile, David Davis was last night appointed to head up the new government department for leaving the European Union, while Liam Fox has become secretary of state for international trade.
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