AS a member of the Congleton Labour Party I visited the Party Conference at Bournemouth - attending a fringe meeting of the County Landowners' Association, whose guest was the Minister of Agriculture.

I questioned the minister in respect of those losing their farms and those over the age of 55 being subjected to the ill conceived Jobseekers' Allowance.

After the meeting I managed to have a personal word with the Minister and requested him to support the 'People's Lottery' for ornamental Horticulture - and to place the remit for such from his Department to the Department for Culture and the Arts (as his department was unlikely to have the resources to assist those wishing to further their careers in the varying sectors against the background of 95.6% imports of flowers, trees and shrubs from EC Member States).

The visit was not a waste of time, after 18 years of a Conservative Government with its Common Sense Revolution, one wonders what next this lost party will emerge with.

JOHN E WILLETT

Future of Rural Society.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.