This autumn the Government published its Agriculture Bill and, as shadow minister for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, I will be working over the coming weeks to ensure it supports farming and our environment.

Michael Gove’s commitments to protecting the environment have been the focus of much attention.

But there are fundamental omissions from the Bill which make his promises rather hollow, as I told BBC Sunday Politics this weekend.

You can watch highlights from this on my website, daviddrewmp.org.uk.

There is a lack of answers to the fundamental question: how do we want our food to be produced?

Indeed, a farmer speaking on BBC Sunday Politics said, “Mr Gove please just listen to us farmers. Let’s just think how we’re going to feed this country!”

We must support environmental protection but, to maintain environmental standards, high-quality food and animal welfare, we also need to support farmers to produce our food.

We produce too little of our own food and need to get up to 80 per cent self-sufficient; a 20 per cent increase.

The real worry is that we cannot allow European control of our agriculture to be replaced with control by the US or Australasia.

Cheap imports, produced to lower standards, could wipe out British agriculture.

Many British farmers supported Brexit because they hoped for a more British-led system, not one where they are brutally exposed to US competition without any support.

There would be no level playing field with the US which massively subsidises its agriculture. It would be catastrophic for British agriculture, and farmers know that.