Taking TB to the top of the political agenda

Juggling a career in politics with farming is a difficult act, but Stanley Johnson, Conservative parliamentary candidate for Teignbridge, still manages to keep abreast of agricultural issues from his farm on Exmoor.

Mr Johnson owns the 200ha (500-acre) Nethercote Farm, Winsford, Somerset, but lets out the pasture and moorland.

“Rural life is under threat and the other parties have no understanding of rural issues,” he said. “The Labour Party manifesto doesn’t have much to say about farming and rural matters and it jolly well ought to.”

Living in a TB hotspot, Mr Johnson has very little time for the government’s current policy on badger control. “Bovine TB is affecting people dramatically – it is a crucial issue and needs to be addressed.”

Another key topic on Exmoor and Dartmoor is the ban on hunting. “It has hit rural life quite hard. I think it will do great damage to conservation and will certainly make farming more difficult in terms of fallen stock.”

Farming’s viability is also an ever-present concern. “Farmers are very much being squeezed and you couldn”t imagine Dartmoor surviving without farming.”

However, the Teignbridge constituency has other concerns, said Mr Johnson. With an elderly population and some of the highest council tax and water rates in the country, the cost of living is a key worry, he said. “Farmers are top of my personal priority but you do have to look at the constituency as a whole, and here council tax is the single most important issue.”