Farmers across the country are facing tough times due to rock-bottom prices, cheap beef imports and red tape around farm payments. But are farmers in the Richmond constituency confident there is a candidate that will speak out for them and fight for local issues? Ashley Barnard reports

FARMERS want their voices heard in Parliament, according to those who tend the land in one of the region's widest and most diverse seats.

The Richmond constituency incorporates market towns Stokesley, Northallerton, Bedale and Richmond, as well as isolated rural areas in deepest Swaledale and Wensleydale, the North York Moors and the Yorkshire Dales national parks.

The seat also contains the largest military garrison in Europe at Catterick, which will this summer see its own town centre opening to serve the swelling numbers of military personnel, veterans, and their families.

At Leyburn Auction Mart, farmers trading sheep and cattle agreed that rural issues faced by farmers also affected the wider public – but said they needed a strong voice in Westminster to stand up for them.

Farmer John Amsden, from Carperby, said: “There are a lot of issues in the Dales around transport, doctor surgeries, the rural economy, and housing.

“The only candidate who understand the local issues is John Blackie.

“Westminster doesn’t regard farmers. I would like to see someone get in and wind them up a bit – William Hague did nothing at all to really support us.”

Another farmer, who asked not to be named, added: “People talk about minimum wage, but farmers don’t get it.

“We produce cheap food for Tesco that makes billions.”

Mr Amsden added: “Young people need to be encouraged to stay here and for that there needs to be better jobs – they are going elsewhere for more money and opportunities.

“We need affordable housing, we are going to end up with no one working on farms, learning how to keep the countryside going – it is a real crisis.”

Another farmer, who did not want to be named, said he had been impressed with Conservative candidate Rishi Sunak when he visited the mart recently.

He said: “I told him that some people would be put off because he obviously wasn’t a local man – so he came here and spoke to farmers at an auction and he seemed to understand a lot of the problems.

“Supermarkets taking charge and keeping prices low is a real problem. Housing is too expensive for young people – it’s important for them to stay otherwise our economy will collapse.”

In the bustling canteen at Northallerton Auction Mart, farmers agreed that housing, jobs and healthcare were the biggest issues.

A farmer from Carthorpe, near Bedale, who did not want to be named, said whoever wins the seat will have to fight for rural issues.

“Rural issues have not seemed to have been very high on the agenda, from what I’ve seen from leaflets passed through my door," he said.

“I’ve not heard from or seen any of them apart from Rishi Sunak, who visited the mart recently, and seems to have embraced the rural nature of the constituency.

“Beef prices are really up and down at the moment, and there are a lot of beef exports coming in and competing with us – we need a strong voice in parliament to stand up for agriculture.”

He said he was undecided on an EU referendum – but said he felt staying in the union would be better for trade, which mirrored opinion at Leyburn Auction Mart.

Tim Raw, a retired farmer who had worked at local auction marts for more than ten years, said he didn’t believe Mr Sunak was the right choice for the area because he was not local.

He said: “A lot of farmers don’t like him – he hasn’t been around very long and we need someone who understands agricultural people.”

Candidates:

Rishi Sunak (Cons), Matthew Cooke (UKIP), Mike Hill (Lab), John Blackie (Ind) Robin Scott (Ind) Leslie Rowe (Green) John Harris (Lib Dem).