Yorkshire FYFC no-confidence bid fails – what now?

The Yorkshire Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs will meet this evening (25 October) to discuss its next steps in its ongoing clash with the National Federation.

The executive committee meeting follows the rejection of Yorkshire’s call for a vote of no-confidence in the NFYFC’s board of management at a council meeting in Coventry on 20 October, where the council voted to support its board of management and officer team.

Some 83% of council members were present, including representatives from county federations across England and Wales.

See also: Yorkshire YFCs hit NFYFC with no-confidence vote

Yorkshire members have been angered by the  NFYFC’s decision to axe next year’s annual convention, following reports of antisocial behaviour at the 2018 Blackpool event.

Yorkshire chair Kirsty Searby praised the county’s members for not making a knee-jerk reaction after news broke of the convention’s cancellation.

“Our members agreed that the convention format needs looking at – maybe going down the lines of a festival – but the anger came from the way the decision to cancel was made, with members left to learn about it second-hand via social media.

“There were also strong feelings about the way the whole Blackpool affair was handled; with negative stories coming out from National, rather than telling the public about all the good that Young Farmers do.”

The Yorkshire Federation’s meeting will take place at the Great Yorkshire Showground at Harrogate.

Lynsey Martin, chair of NFYFC council, said: “Your democratically elected council debated all the reasons why the convention was cancelled and decided to support the board in its decision.”