welcome to Sputnik orbiting the world
with me George Galloway and me gayathri
it's not often that Britain's farmers
make the news but when the price of milk
became cheaper than the price of water
something was bound to give and
Britain's farming community hitherto
stoic and demonstrative British started
acting like well the French they cleared
the shelves of hasta and Morrison's and
started to give the milk away in the car
parks and charities some big hi furs
even made it into a supermarket aisles
joining us now is Britain's top woman
farmer and deputy leader of the National
Farmers Union the NFU Manette butters
minute let me say first and foremost
you're the first farmer I ever met in my
entire life I spent almost 30 years as a
member of parliament I never met one
person from the NFU and I already know
that if I had that have been more
informed about agricultural issues than
I now AM start us off by telling us
about this crisis in the agricultural
community for dairy farmers I think
there is massive frustration you saw the
protesting it's been ongoing people
going into stores empty shelves it takes
years generations to build a herd of
cows investment in dairy farming is
massive probably one of the greatest
investments goes into dairy farming so
when you see a product being used as a
loss leader over the number of years
that milk has been used as a loss leader
I think things in our boiling point you
know farmers cannot go on producing milk
below the cost of production well I
understand why the supermarket's want to
use milk as a loss leader and that's
fair enough no one complains about that
least of all the consumer but the price
should not be paid by the producer
should it I mean if it's a loss leader
it's the supermarket that should be
taken the law
you're absolutely right and and when you
you use it as a loss leader I think the
damage you do to that supply chain is
massive and that's what we're seeing now
you know we need a supply chain that is
transparent that functions they
effectively we're paying the same for
milk now that we were in 1982 you know
you were paying 20 p a point in 1982 you
can now buy a litre effectively four
pints for ATP 19 is to 33 years ago you
know that that's a real sign of why
things are not working now and why that
supply chain isn't working is it just
about lost leading is there
overproduction and if so how why there
is definitely I think a global problem
with overproduction I think a lot of
emphasis was put on the Chinese market
but that just isn't there like the world
thought it was going to be but you have
to remember that we are an island nation
we have 65 million and rising to feed
and we can be wholly self-sufficient in
milk and milk product and I would say as
a small island nation with pretty much
the largest population in the EU we
actually should be aiming for
self-sufficiency and milk and milk
products it's been reported that the
sanctions on Russia for example helped
drive down demand and therefore give us
some oversupply but isn't it that people
don't take seriously enough the issues
that affect the rural communities in
general agricultural communities
specifically and they just don't have
the political muscle to impact on
governmental and corporate decision
making I think you're right and I think
we have suffered from several
governments who have not taken food
production seriously we have not had
food at the heart of government British
food which we should have you have to
take on board a health education food
farming you know they should all be
intrinsically linked you know we waste
more food than any other country in the
EU are levels of education our
understanding of food and where food
comes from you know that is one of the
lowest levels in the EU so I really
really think it's not about farmers
warning government handouts is about
wandering an enabling environment and
actually having government departments
that are working together and I get
enormously frustrated that the
politicians haven't prioritized food
there are only ever three meals away
from from all-out Civil War basically so
I think where we can be self-sufficient
people want to be able to to buy out of
a global food larder but there are areas
where we should absolutely be aiming for
self-sufficiency and milk and dairy
products is one area if I were running
the NFU and I'm glad you'll know at the
top of it or near to the top of it I
would conflate the interests of the
consumer and the producer I would say as
you've just put it very succinctly we're
only three meals a day away from riot so
the the mistake might have been for
farmers to talk farming speak and talk
producer speak always rather than making
their obvious allies amongst the people
particularly younger people who are very
interested in food I know in our house
there's always food programs on the TV
whether it's come dine with me or
looking back at what it used to be like
unfortunately I remember eating in the
70s eating in the 80s and so on so it's
not that we've got a public which is not
interested in food we've got a public
that's probably more interested in food
than it's ever been but somehow the
producers and the consumers haven't
quite knitted together I think you're
absolutely right and I sit on the London
food board and that's a great way of
engaging with the new food policy
influences and and we have to do it I I
get very frustrated at the lack of
understanding with school children of
food production I've had school children
out of my farm and they just love it
they love knowing how food is produced
watching a seed grow the very very
basics and I think that we are in danger
sometimes I've overcomplicating it and
making it too difficult whereas actually
if you give a good understanding of the
basics you know we've now got four
as a GCSE and sadly that the vital link
with primary production is missing in
that that needs to be in there with the
food GCSE so that you have primary
production in there as well Little Italy
learning about food if you don't
understand the production process so
does it mean you get you know schools
visiting your farm yes yes absolutely
economy or just you know it's something
I think that many farmers feel
absolutely passionately about they love
getting schooled children out of farm of
course you know modern rondelle age it's
pretty difficult yeah you know farms at
the end of the day are our workplaces
but it's very important even to get the
farm into into the classroom which is
which is maybe more achievable for many
we're certainly as an NF you were
involved with in London schools getting
them out on farm getting a chef in and
just showing them the basics I mean I
understand that you're the first woman
to be on the top of the Farmers Union
and you're also the fifth generation in
your family to work in farming now I
myself am a city girl but I have worked
with farmers before in the east of
Indonesia called the Moluccas and I've
worked with both men and women farmers
you know the whole families involved
then how is that in Britain how unique
is your position as a woman's farmer
here I think women are and probably
always have been the backbone of many
businesses I know my mother was very
involved in our business it is really
family is this year there are family
businesses yeah yeah they really are and
although our farm now is very different
to what it was when my father was
farming it it's had to move at the times
it's a very different business now but
it's very much a team effort and and all
of us you know pulling together working
together the point that you make raises
an obvious question that is it a
zero-sum game is food self-sufficiency
in Britain and more protection in one
way for British agriculture and a
commensurate loss to countries in the
developing world like Indonesia for
example you mentioned the global for
basket earlier to what extent can we
achieve an equilibrium and a fair one
between the International farmer and the
domestic farmer and allow the consumer
to make the kind of choices that we
would all want to be able to make I
think there are enormous global crushes
on food there are only three percent of
farmers in the world so there are three
percent producing food for the
ninety-seven percent it's pretty
profound statistic and you know it's not
really in any government's interest to
have high food prices but we want
sustainable farming businesses across
the globe so I'm part of the world
farmers organization and I think it's
really important that that three percent
actually works together you know we have
to have the whole issue of climate
change of water resource of food
security and with Demi three percent of
us to do it so we want to be our
resource out of that that global larder
but we want sustainable businesses
across the globe to so there is an
element of us actually working together
in the EU but also across the world to
maintain sustainable businesses and have
a level you will have heard of the fair
trade agreement you know actually
producing to effectively a living price
you know we've heard obviously the
living wage which we all support
absolutely want people to be able to
afford better way of life have a living
wage that is relative to that but you've
got to have a living price that is
relative to that as well last question
then I mentioned in the introduction
some rather unwritten quite militant
tactics by the dairy farmers which I
personally think was a masterstroke got
you on to our show that's for sure our
farmers becoming so cross that we might
see the kind of things we often see
across the channel in France I think
they are incredibly frustrated they are
angry they are frightened actually
because many of them dairy
farmers they are struggling to you know
put food on the table and maintain their
businesses and they want to drive those
businesses forward huge huge investment
in those businesses so I hope we don't
see too much disruption in stores
because that is our marketplace those
are our consumers we want to keep them
on board but we do want them to
understand i think that the plight of
dairy farmers so being able to go out by
british look out for that red tractor
logo and buying british dairy produce
and right across of origin and the red
tractor as a sign of an independently
audited supply chain and you've only got
to look back to the things like horse
gates when we had supply chains that
were tampered with and i think it really
was a wake-up call to an island nation
as she you know supply chains matter
when it says a hundred percent on the
packet horse gate proved but it wasn't
so valuing our our UK supply chains
which the red tractor is an endorsement
of that it's very very important that's
what we like the puppet to do red
tractors sound good to me thanks Nanette
batters of the National Farmers Union
coming up after the break all things
Tony Blair don't miss it
you
welcome back to Sputnik he's back Tony
Blair he's plastered all over the
British media warning labor that it
faces annihilation if it doesn't take
his advice on who its next leader should
be Blair and Alastair Campbell
apparently have a dossier on it swept
off the internet floor it could all
happen in 45 minutes apparently the
killings of Tony Blair is imminent the
movie I mean and the parents of some of
the children Blair sent to their deaths
have given childhood a two-week deadline
to name the date for his inquiry report
or legal action will follow it's all
coming to a head for Tony Blair joining
us now to pull all these threads
together is political analyst James
Randolph who also is working on the
Blair documentary James thanks for
coming on the sputnik let's start with
the most up-to-date news the families of
some of the slain british soldiers
killed in iraq i have warned Chilcott if
he doesn't name a date within a
fortnight for the delivery of the Chaco
inquiry report they're going to court
this is beginning to heat up isn't it's
beginning to sharpen up well it's been
three changes of government since the
chilcot enquiry was first launched Blair
has managed to dance draw out and delay
and use every tactic he can as a as a
barrister to draw this out into his own
interest but regrettably it's taken the
families of dead servicemen to actually
have to threaten legal action to bring
this to a head is if she David Cameron
keeps saying you know it's independent
he's not in control of when it reports
but of course it's the taxpayer that's
paying for it it's cost many millions I
don't know how many millions it's taken
all these years three Parliament's and
he keeps turning down government offers
of additional staff to speed the whole
process up David Cameron can't really
wash his hands of this forever can he
know he can't distance himself from it
either it must be theirs
tation of senior civil servants and
officers within the Ministry of Defense
who have interests in in this there's no
reason to list of taking so long does
all this mean do you think that what is
eventually going to come is more
devastating or are they delaying it
because it's not going to be nearly as
devastating as the public is expecting
it's mainly to do with the maximization
of documents and correspondence that
took place between White House and
number ten Downing Street at the time
what we found in monitoring all of this
at the Blair dock is that Blair has used
every delaying tactic that he can it it
it rings run them but I suppose my
question is why is it because we're all
going to be disappointed with the Joker
report or is it because the Chilkoot
report is going to be even more damning
than perhaps we anticipate we've had our
doubts about the makeup of the panel of
the Chilcote enquiry from the girls who
have died in the process exactly i mean
this is crazy the people have died and
you know there's been three changes of
government but Cameron cannot use this
as an excuse any longer he really has to
and when you have the families of dead
service personnel well concentrate the
mind wonderfully and no I did make the
point that Blair's everywhere I mean for
the documentary it's terrific not so
good for those who've got to stomach him
on every screen on every front page he's
now intervened in the Labour leadership
contest with a an apocalyptic attack on
Jeremy Corbyn saying that it would be
effectively the destruction of the
Labour Party to choose the man that
seems almost certain ought to be chosen
what does that tell us you used his
words annihilation other words that have
been described described to people who
supported mr. Corbin morons and other
forms of people who need a heart
transplant if their heart is with him
you know it's this is a political debate
if the Labour Party had focused on
attacking the government
with such gusto where would we be but
how does he imagine that this place I
mean that's something we need to get
into his head to father my suppose but I
mean I'm wondering does he really think
that anybody in the Labour Party is
going to change their voting intention
because Tony Blair asked them to it's
ironic that he held his presentation for
progress the other week at the institute
of chartered accountants in the city
whereas previously a labor leader would
have held a trade union or you know a
friendly organization for the institute
of chartered accountants was just crazy
he's friendly with a country every time
he speaks bled doesn't seem to realize
that there are another 10,000 members of
the of the Labour Party you're prepared
to join every time he attacks see jeremy
corbyn it's absolutely crazy you see
well that's one thesis and it might be
right that is simply mad swivel-eyed
unhinged although maybe method in this
madness matter my theory it is this that
unhinged as it was Blair's latest
intervention is a Limehouse declaration
for those not old enough to remember the
Limehouse declaration preceded the split
out of the Labour Party by the then
right wing into the formation of the SDP
the Social Democratic Party which
eventually ended up in the Liberal
Democrats but kept mrs. Thatcher and
power for a for a decade I don't believe
that not that Blair or straw or Campbell
would be talking in the apocalyptic
language that they are if they intended
to remain in the labour party in the
event of a carbon victory so I think
that what we are beginning to see here
now is an historic cleavage a second one
the first one being in 1982 a historic
cleaver which will lead to Blair leading
his own party that's my thoughts what do
you think well
if he did many of his acolytes would
have to leave the private industries
they've gone in twos and they've gone
into the private healthcare market
they've gone into munitions companies
and armed suppliers so it will be
interesting to have them come back into
mainstream politics and of course David
Miliband his protege is in New York
working for the International Rescue
Committee there's a thought will he come
to the rescue of the balearics oh my he
returned to Britain to lead this new
breakaway formation well he'd have to
give up a massive salary in excess of
300 thousand pounds a year he would have
to give a lot of privilege that he's
gone in his position in New York the
establishment can fund that Boris
Johnson gets more than 300,000 a year
for writing one column in The Daily
Telegraph so they can find a way of
featherbedding the reentry of these
people if it happened how do you think
they do the carbon Labour Party now has
six hundred and ten thousand members
which is almost triple what they had
before the last general election which
was only three months ago how many
members do you think Blair could take
with him how would they prosper in the
electoral game do you think well they
play political brinksmanship all along
and Corbin was a token candidate up for
the left just to show that there was a
democratic process within the party and
it was doing a bit of precession for
Blair's choices of lit this candle or
Andy Burnham and but they were all on
the far right at the party whether Blair
will bring his his magic is black magic
if you like going to the Labour Party we
can only guess but at the moment he
seems to be failing on all fronts the
difficulty for us at the Blair doc of
course is that keeping up with all that
is rewrite after re right after reaver
we've got the centuries or gift that
keeps on giving which is a problem if
you're making a movie about him because
he of which finished it six months ago
think how much we would have missed but
it is on the editing table now so pretty
eminent certainly before Chilcott in
fact
everything in life is going to be before
joko at the current rate of progress for
sure on the subject of of the Labour
leadership it's now looking that carbon
is going to win a victory is so big that
no one can seriously question they can't
say that it's Trotskyite infiltration or
Daily Telegraph Tories it is love it
here and it's too late to stop it it's
too big to stop when you've marched six
hundred and ten thousand people to the
top of the hill you're not going to be
able to march them down again we may be
looking at a jeremy corbyn victory with
perhaps seventy percent or more of the
vote perhaps three quarters of the
members voting for carbon I missed all
that didn't you I've spent my whole life
working for this but I never imagined
that such a sweep such a swell could
take place how surprising is it to
people on the left for a long time like
you it's groundbreaking it's absolutely
utterly wonderful but breathtaking in
light of the recent election results
which sauce Scotland return one Labour
candidate if that message hasn't gone
out that a traditional labor Heartland
like Scotland has lost a generation if
they don't take preventive or measures
right now in restoring it through so
listen to me how many carbonates are
there scotland by the way the SNP and
wood would say that they've taken the
call over vote because they've taken
everything Jeremy's been wearing for
years if this changes everything in
Scotland you see and this is a point
that other pundits have not picked up on
Jeremy Corbyn is the only person who can
turn things around for labor in Scotland
can stop independence therefore jeremy
corbyn is the only politician who can
stop britain breaking up that's a pretty
powerful reason to support him because
that a stroke he'll take all those
clothes back from the SNP they'll be to
the right of the Labour Party
there'll be the yellow tourists rather
than labor being the red taurus it
really is an absolute game changer it's
a paradigm shift if koban does get in
and we got to think of second votes
we've got to think of the possibilities
of the Blairites acting together in song
but it's the only man ironically can
save the Union is a traditional
dyed-in-the-wool left winger by jeremy
corbyn it says a lot of the state of the
union at the moment hallelujah James
Randolph thanks for joining us on this
book and now it's your time to tell us
what you think through the portals of
social media what's rattling gayatri
about the battle for milk I asked
farmers versus supermarkets which side
do you stand on both a says they should
all go vegan and no one has to fight
over milk that is produced for the cause
David Taylor says tough choices farmers
subsidized up to the eyeballs why treat
them differently to other benefit
claimants because if they didn't work
with all staff hmm on Blair where is he
heading Ricardo Picasso says he tried
his best to kill the Labour Party and
now he's complaining about the
life-support machine and Luigi says you
can have any color you want as long as
it's blue well Blair is the big story
this week indeed many many weeks is the
big story he's clearly not left the
political stage my guess is he intends
to come back right at the center of it
we'll see and that's all that we've got
for this week which alas means that's
the end of the show you can stay in
touch with us on twitter at RT
underscore sputnik or on Facebook would
make on Russia today it's goodbye from
me Gayatri and from me George Galloway
it's been marvelous
you