AN OPEN LETTER TO PETER KENDALL

Rose Cottage
The green
Bishop Burton
East Yorkshire
Tuesday 2nd February

My dear Mr Kendall.
It was a pleasure for me to speak directly with you at the hustings for North Eastern England at Agriculture house York, I was very impressed by the sincerity and commitment shown towards the NFU by all the candidates. However as somewhat of an outsider, firmly with the belief that the National farmers union really should become the National farmers union and represent every farmer in the United Kingdom, I take the view that every member of the union should be able to vote directly for a national management team. My personal farming history is fairly well documented as is my commitment to farmers suffering financial setbacks also well understood in many farming circles. I have always felt that the farmers union will never achieve full recognition from any government until we do introduce one member one vote. Politics is always a matter of compromise, and without power, British farmers are without ability to take advantage of our national market. Individual farming decisions are always made in regards to a long-term view, most British farmers are inevitably the sons and daughters of previous generations farming families.

Long term marketing decisions and organisations capable of assisting farmers with cooperative marketing of products requires the input of the whole farming industry, clearly therefore an effective farmers union will always be an important part of National agricultural marketing of our products. No one is suggesting that yourself or your team has let the country down, but with regards to bringing about a more active farmers union exerting the maximum amount of pressure on the government and the powerful supermarket lobby it is a matter of great concern to many of us, that the farmers union becomes totally inclusive.

For many years now I have worked with Derek Mead, Dick Lindly and many others in an attempt to reform the manner in which the leadership of the union is chosen, Derek Mead is an older man than yourself supporting both the farmers for action and the NFU. Of course many of these activists were members of both the farmers for action and the farmers union showing their frustration from lack of support directly from the farmers union of all was being clearly obvious to everybody. But the time must have arrived where the small cacous of decision-makers within the farmers union has to be extended in order to bring in members who for many years have felt disenfranchised. A simple graph of the farmers union membership would show a massive decline in numbers, not just within the natural decline of individual active farming numbers but well beyond that. I believe during a last four years of your presidency the continued loss of members as been turned around somewhat and you have brought in small numbers of new members. Of course you will all be proud of this recognition in regards to your activities.

There is a clear division between internal active members opinion on whether the rank-and-file should have a vote or not, where they clearly oppose any dilution of their decision-making abilities, this is in direct opposition to the views expressed by the rank-and-file members of the union, clearly only by asking every member of the union whether or not they would like chance to vote for the leadership of the union or not, is the only way that this situation will be resolved. So my clear direct question to yourself is this “are you prepared to ask every member of the farmers union whether or not they would like to extend their franchise in order that they might have a direct vote on the leadership management team. Derek mead as already stated that if he was chosen to be president for the next two years, that this is the first question he would ask all of the membership.

Those of us like Derek Mead who wish to draw attention to this important question, are prevented systematically through one device for another from addressing every member of the union individually, as President of the union what you say and do it is reported quite naturally to the entire membership, as far as Derek Mead is concerned membership of the National farmers union, without being provided with an address list or otherwise being allowed to have his proposals circulated directly to every member posted and packaged at his own expense but carried out directly by the farmers union utilising the address list to which he has been prevented from a obtaining at the present time.

Prevention of contact with the members of the union cannot be regarded as anything else other than a direct attempt at preventing the members having any influence whatsoever on those small numbers of people who are actually going to vote on the leadership.

Twenty years ago today, if we needed an important reminder of democracy in the making, according to the Independent newspaper that FW de Klerk the South African Prime Minister chose to reform the entire legal status of unions and all classes of South African society preventing a long drawn out war by providing the whole populations with one man one vote.
South Africa like the farmers union was administered by a small inner cacaus but with a thirty minute speech F. W. De Klerk changed the course of South African history whereby every member of South African society male and female black and white were no longer disenfranchised simply by the expedient of one man one vote.

Clearly Mr Kendall it is time for you to declare your intentions, are you prepared to ask every member of the farmers union or not whether they would like to be part of the voting system turning this situation round directly to one member one vote for the leadership package of our union or not.

Yours sincerely

John Nicholson and those active members of the union supporting one member one Vote.

This why we are waiting for the leadership to speak.


CHANGE PLEASE


Twenty years ago , if we needed an important reminder of democracy in the making, FW de Klerk the South African Prime Minister chose to reform the entire legal status of unions and all classes of South African society preventing a long drawn out war by providing the whole populations with one man one vote.

South Africa like the farmers union was administered by a small inner cacaus but with a thirty minute speech F. W. De Klerk changed the course of South African history whereby every member of South African society male and female black and white were no longer disenfranchised simply by the expedient of one man one vote.

The world of the majority of British farmers is unfortunately very small, in most cases they appear to care very little for their neighbours problems unless it means will they be selling their farm and can I buy it privately.

I suppose farming is a hard business where there is a lot to be said for minding ones own business but it can be carried to far, for instance the broad acres farmers care little about the horrific farming circumstances of our dairy farmers since the destruction of the milk Marketing board. Destroying an industry on grounds of breeching completion laws was no more then an idiots charter, No one can stop Co-operation between any product in short supply.

WITH ONLY FOUR MAJOR RETAILERS LEFT IN OUR COUNTRY CAN ANYONE REALLY BELIEVE THE ARE NOT COOPERATING ON TWO FRONTS THE PRICE THEY PAY FOR THE PRODUCTS AND OF COURSE THEIR SELLING PRICE.


They know each other’s business like they know the back of their own hands no one will ever catch them co-operating

WE THE BRITISH FARMING COMMUNITY ARE A JOKE AS FAR AS THE FRENCH FARMING INDUSTRY GOES WITH VIRTUALLY DOUBLE EVERYTHING EXCEPT NATIONAL POPULATION THE SAME NUMBER OF HOME CUSTOMERS

There is one way we can change the rules bring in some Farmers for Action