Editor’s View: Much policy drama to come before Christmas
© Adobe Stock Should politicians have such a long summer holiday?
Sometimes it feels like it simply gives them too much time to engage in other activities such as deputy prime minister Angela Rayner’s alleged tax evasion, or Reform UK leader Nigel Farage making yet another trip to the US to fawn over president Donald Trump.
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But at last, this week, Parliament is back in session.
Well, at least until conference recess, which begins in about a week and a half on 16 September and lasts until 13 October.
And then they’re properly back. Well apart from a full week off in November.
And then they break up for Christmas on 18 December and don’t return until 5 January.
I suspect most pensioners you know have more taxing schedules.
Of course, this is just one component of a job with a multitude of facets, with many backbench MPs also devoted to work in their constituency and their areas of special interest.
But it does squeeze down the time available for deliberating all those critical decisions that affect our lives.
And there is a lot to come between now and the end of the year that is of interest to our sector.
We will see deliberations on the Finance Bill that will include the proposed inheritance tax changes, as well as chancellor Rachel Reeves giving another Budget speech in November.
There is legislation that will have a huge impact on landowners and farmers in England in the form of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
This is set to give the government sweeping new powers to speed up major infrastructure projects and allow Natural England to compulsory purchase land for environmental works.
Perhaps the break away from Parliament is most critical for MPs lucky enough to have a position in government, such as Defra secretary Steve Reed and farming minister Daniel Zeichner.
There are more hours in the day to focus on the myriad meetings, visits and decisions to be taken without having to also spend time on the hallowed green benches or be answerable to those pesky select committees and the like.
Yet Parliament’s absence also has a deadening effect.
Major departmental decisions are rarely announced during recess and therefore a backlog of announcements can sometimes build up.
And what a list they have pledged to get to before Christmas for English farmers – major policy announcements await such as their long-promised 25-year Farming Roadmap, which will hopefully allay some concerns about food security, as set out in this week’s lead story.
Then there is the update on the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), the Land Use Framework and Baroness Batters’ farm profitability review.
Of those, the SFI announcement is likely to come first and be the most important.
Depending on how ambitious it is, it will have a major impact on those in the scheme wondering if they’ll be eligible in future, and those locked out wondering if they will get in next time.
Meanwhile, Northern Irish farmers await the latest twists and turns in the development of the revised Nutrients Action Programme, and those in Scotland and Wales wait to see whether more policy will be rushed out ahead of elections next spring.
Exhausting. It’s enough to make you want a holiday…