Editor’s View: Eagle has me reaching for comfort of history
Battle of Agincourt © Duncan1890/iStockphoto Is there a time of year more associated with British victories than the end of October?
The 23 October 1942 was the start of the second battle of El Alamein, a decisive turning point in the Second World War, when the Axis forces suffered one of their first major defeats at the hand of General Montgomery’s tanks.
This week also marks the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar (21 October), when Nelson’s famed naval victory over the Napoleonic fleet ensured Britain’s dominance of the waves was unassailable for the remainder of the conflict.
See also: Farmer discontent grows over Labour’s firm IHT position
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Lastly, the anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt will also pass this week (25 October) – an earlier round of French-bashing, made famous by that rousing speech in William Shakespeare’s Henry V:
“And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.”
It is also marked fondly by all Welsh folk who enjoy grandiose stories of leek-wearing longbowmen with no trousers on, who – legend would have it – played a key role in the victory. (I’m looking at you, Will Evans.)
These were the rousing tales I turned to distract myself following farming minister Angela Eagle’s interview given to the BBC’s Farming Today programme last week.
She left me feeling profoundly glum after pouring cold water on hopes for reforms to inheritance tax in much more unequivocal language than had previously been used by any member of the government.
Hope is still not lost, but clearly Dame Angela and her boss Emma Reynolds have no desire to play the hero on this topic – meaning there is still a vacancy for someone in the Labour Party to take that role.
If history teaches us anything, it is that heroes are few and far between, and often have plenty of flaws anyway. So perhaps it is foolish to hope for one to lead us out of this muddle.
Still, it is lamentable that this political age is marked by a lack of characters that aspire to stirring words and great deeds.
Instead, we have a glut of bland technocrats who don’t have the good grace to be much use at plain old managerialism – the unsung skill that allows governments, businesses and armies to do great things.
While out meeting farmers in the vicinity of Scotch Corner this week, though (as a guest of GSC Grays), the penny did fully drop on the best thing that recent governments have done for farming – drown us in red tape.
Layers and layers of environmental and welfare legislation have stifled the passage of planning permission and meant that demand for meat, particularly pigs and poultry, continually runs ahead of supply.
The upshot?
Some processors are now offering 10-year supply contracts for new broiler sheds and close to 20 years for pork – a development that would have been unfathomable until recently, and producer’s profits are well ahead of the five-year average.
Now there’s a rousing tale for the history books.