In a statement to the Countryside Alliance, Kemi Badenoch outlines her bid for the leadership of the Conservative Party.
Our countryside is a national treasure, admired both here and around the world. But it is not just a hotel, it is a place of home and work for millions. This is a fact that all too often Whitehall forgets.
I am very proud to be an MP for a beautiful rural constituency in Essex and I am a supporter of the rural way of life; something I have fought to protect.
Being a rural MP has given me an appreciation of the challenges facing our farmers - weighed down by bureaucracy and diktats from quangos - having to defend themselves from campaigns of misinformation and bizarre drives to ban meat and dairy, they routinely face unnecessary barriers to food production while also trying to help the environment.
As Business Secretary I worked with my counterparts in Defra to reduce such barriers and protect the interests of British farmers and consumers. I am also a great advocate for local, rural businesses and support the Countryside Alliance Awards, and was delighted that the village shop in Henham, in my constituency, was nominated for an award last year.
Furthermore, while this Labour government subsidises landowners to build massive solar farms over farmland and presses ahead with a complex web of pylons and cables across the countryside, I have defended our countryside and have called for a proper review into the costs and approach of hitting our Net Zero target.
It is the people in the countryside who know the land best, and so it is you whom I want to hear from on how we protect the countryside rather than receiving policy papers from those straight out of university living in the city.
The reason my campaign for the leadership of the Conservative Party is not called “Kemi for Leader” is because I have been clear that I cannot renew the party alone. Gone are the days of one leader flanked by a handful of advisers giving direction to the whole party. Our party must become a team once again.
That is why I want organisations like the Countryside Alliance, and its members, to be part of the renewal of our thinking.
If successful on the 2nd November I very much look forward to engaging with you.
We must renew our party and our thinking so that we can deliver for the people of this country, including our rural communities.
Kemi Badenoch has served as the MP for North West Essex (formally Saffron Walden) since 2017. Kemi was previously Secretary of State for Business and Trade, President of the Board of Trade and Minister for Women and Equalities.