Liz Truss, the new Conservative leader, must deliver the right policies for British farming and rural businesses or 'risk losing the hearts and minds of 12 million voters.' The foreign secretary will become the UK's next prime minister after beating former chancellor Rishi Sunak in the Conservative leadership contest, writes farminguk.com on their website.
Ms. Truss won 81,326 votes (57.4%) of Conservative Party members, compared to Mr. Sunak's 60,399 votes (42.6%). Industry groups have reacted, with the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) calling for a new ambitious strategy for the rural economy.
"No prime minister in the last 20 years has had an ambitious strategy for the rural economy. This has to change," said Mark Tufnell, the group's president.
According to the CLA, years of neglect has led to an 18% productivity gap between the rural economy and the national average, and closing this gap would add £43bn to the UK economy.
Read the complete article at www.farminguk.com.