In our community, we are well served by groups who campaign for better across the county, country and the wider world. I enjoy working with these groups and regularly receive their delegations and lobbies. One such group who I work closely with are the Bexhill Fairtrade group. Led by local resident, Jack Doherty, the group and I discuss how the UK can do more to support farmers and workers in the developing world. Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability and fair terms of trade. This will ultimately allow people in the poorest parts of the world to improve their position, have more control over their lives and not be so reliant on UK aid. It’s about giving them a ladder up via the power of trade and commerce.

I’ve been so impressed with the local team, who I often meet in our local cafes and shops to promote the produce, that I decided to use my voice on their behalf in Parliament. I have therefore become the Vice-Chairman of the Parliamentary Group which supports the Fairtrade movement. This is an important time for this movement. With the UK leaving the EU, we now have the freedom to put our own trade deals in place with new markets across the world. One of the difficulties I always felt about the EU, and I do not wish to open up the Brexit-debate, was that if you were fortunate enough to be a member then you would be protected from cheaper produce from outside the club. If you were outside the EU28, and wanted to trade, then the entry-tariffs to the EU made it difficult to compete (as well as increasing the prices we pay for our imports). Now we are no longer an EU member, we have a golden opportunity to really help the poorest parts of the world. The UK is very generous when it comes to giving aid and assistance but what these countries really want is a level-playing field and the ability to trade their products and be treated as a commercial partner of equals.

My job, in the Fairtrade movement, will be to challenge the team who are negotiating the UK’s trade deals, to provide an opportunity for fair trade to thrive. There is a political gain in all of this for the Government. Trade deals involve give and take. Some aspects of a deal will not be popular back home. There will be issues over cheaper produce coming to the UK which may not operate to the UK’s standards when it comes to animal and environmental welfare and food standards. It’s therefore important that we can demonstrate the positives of trade deals. If that positive is to give farmers and workers in the poorest parts of the world a market and a fair price for the produce they are selling us, many in the UK will view this as a positive which may offset other negatives.

This week, in Parliament, we marked Fairtrade Fortnight and the support which 1.66 million farmers and workers in 1,400 producer organisations receive across the Fairtrade system. To make sure the local voice was represented, Jack came up to the Parliamentary reception and met with me and our Chairman, the MP for Halifax, Holly Lynch.

Buying Fairtrade produce is a simple way you can make a difference to the lives of people who grow the things we love. It gives you the power to change the world for those who need change the most. If you want to find out more, and support the local team who’ve driven me to do more, then Thursday 5th March is your chance. Come along to the Bexhill Sailing Club for 7pm and you will find the team and a member of the movement from London who will be discussing the campaign. As an added incentive, free chocolate and wine tasting is available. As I’ve said before, ours is a community where people join together to make change happen. I am pleased to be able to support the many groups and use my voice for them in Parliament to press for more action.