Political Print

Political Print: ultra-processed foods can be a casualty of Brexit

Britain’s appetite for ready meals and sugary cereal has made headlines this week - just as ministers are considering the future of farm subsidies. By David Burrows. The average household availability of “ultra-processed” foods in the UK is 50.4%. In other words, half of all the foods bought here are about as far from “real…

Could 2018 be the year we start paying the true cost of our food?

Ministers are signalling they may be open to calls to make companies pick up the environmental and health costs of their products. By Nick Hughes. A recent report from the Sustainable Food Trust found that for every £1 UK citizens spend on food, another £1 is incurred in additional costs to society. These can take…

Political Print: you’d have to be green to believe May is

The prime minister’s big conversion to environmentalism is no more convincing than her predecessor’s, writes David Burrows. It has been almost 12 years since David Cameron, at the time the Conservative leader and in opposition, travelled to the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard to show the public he cared about the environment. You know the trip:…

DEFRA secretary’s vision for food and farming is a political gamble. But if it comes off it could be great news for the environment and public health, says Nick Hughes. Love him or loathe him, one thing you can never accuse Michael Gove of is being a safe politician. Taken at face value (and more…

Political Print: where’s the right royal welcome for the industrial strategy?

Prince Harry’s engagement to Meghan Markle stole the headlines from a crucial announcement for Britain’s future. By Nick Hughes. It’s an enduring British media tradition (and frankly an enduring mystery to the Print) that royal events torpedo political events in the news cycle. Take the launch of the government’s much-anticipated industrial strategy, which sank without…

Panglossian views are not restricted to the political Pollyanna

The transport secretary’s view of post-Brexit food supply is reason to panic, says David Burrows. The EU has led UK food and environment policy for the past 43 years. Brexit therefore offers an opportunity to rip things up and start again, and who better to lead us into this new era of secure, safe, healthy…

Political Print: Gove’s big green vision

DEFRA secretary’s conference speech is full of bold talk on the environment but short on detail – especially when it comes to Brexit. By Nick Hughes. Last week, the Print predicted that Michael Gove wouldn’t be quite so reticent in promoting his vision for food and the environment following the non-appearance of his Labour shadow…

Political Print: Food’s off the table at the Labour conference

Hopes of the party promoting a bold new vision were dashed with the shadow DEFRA secretary sidelined in Brighton this week. By Nick Hughes. It’s party conference season, hence it’s time for the Print to snap out of its summer hibernation to pore over the food and environment policies of our current and future leaders.…

Political Print: How has Gove fared in his first 100 days?

The environment secretary’s cheery rhetoric hasn’t been matched by convincing policy on the big challenges facing DEFRA, writes David Burrows. It’s like “putting the fox in charge of the hen house”, said Ed Davey, the former energy secretary, as news broke that Michael Gove was heading back to the cabinet as secretary of state for…

Political Print: Chicken dispute misses the point

Despite calls for politicians to ban chlorine-washed US poultry, it’s businesses that will really decide whether it ends up on our plates. By Nick Hughes. It took what the Print likes to call “the yuk factor” for food to finally feature in the public discourse about Brexit. The prospect of US chlorine-washed chicken being served…