The Liberal Democrats launched a ten-point plan yesterday to rescue the rural economy.

Leader Charles Kennedy said: "The problems of the countryside can't be cured overnight. There must be long-term renewal."

The plan includes compensation for foot-and-mouth, reform of the EU Common Agricultural Policy and protection for rural schools and post offices.

Agriculture spokesman Colin Breed said his party would try to overturn 18 years of Conservative and four years of Labour rule, which he said had led to the decline of the rural economy.

The party's' long-term aim was to abolish the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in favour of a department of rural affairs.

He spoke of "new ideas to revive the agricultural industry at the heart of a new Britain".

Paul Tyler, former chairman of an all-party group looking at agriculture, said: "We will sustain a working rural community by reviving agriculture and rebuilding confidence in food safety."

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