MARGARET Beckett, speaking on BBC PM about agricultural reform, was asked if one form of subsidy to farmers was being discontinued merely to make way for another. She did not answer the question and for good reason.
Now, instead of their being paid to grow crops that are not wanted they are being paid out of the taxpayer's pocket to "manage land", whatever that means. Will this land be open to the public at large to ramble and roam at will, or will it remain the private and exclusive domain of the farmer to the exclusion of the taxpayer who will be paying for it?
What is the difference between the taxpayer paying for unwanted crops and his paying for the upkeep of what will be, in effect, the farmer's extended private garden? Nice work if you can get it.
N G Charnley,
Chesterfield Road,
Blackpool.
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