On 23 February, Luke appeared on TalkRadio to discuss Labour’s support for rural communities.

Luke’s appearance came just after Labour Leader Keir Starmer had given a speech to the National Farmers’ Union outlining Labour’s support for farmers and the countryside.

Britain has some of the highest food standards and best quality food in the world. However, rather than capitalising on this, we export much of the food we produce and often buy food from abroad. Farmers are also facing an extraordinarily hard time at the moment, with Britain’s exit from the EU hampering their trading and the closure of restaurants and cafés reducing their sales.

Since leaving the EU, there is also a risk of opening a back door in future trade deals, whereby countries with lower food standards can export their food to the UK and undercut British farmers.

To maintain our high food standards and back our farmers, then, Luke and the Labour Party are encouraging the country to buy local and buy British. That way, we can not only rally behind our farmers but maintain our top quality food, too.

Buying local also helps to reduce our carbon footprint, as importing food from abroad has a much higher carbon cost than buying it locally.

Luke’s and the Labour Party’s rural polices are a no brainer: buy local and buy British to support our farmers, maintain our high food standards, and reduce our carbon footprint.