There is I fear an unhealthy concern, in certain sectors of farming, that British agriculture will somehow be irreversibly damaged by Brexit.
 
I say unhealthy because I have seen first-hand the farmers who worry, becoming visibly stressed as they see only the negatives. This is not good for them or their blood pressure.
 
The UK produces just 60% of the food we eat, the rest is imported from the EU and elsewhere.
 
We export produce, including lamb, beef, chicken, grain, dairy products, food and drink of all kinds, and much besides including flowers.
 
Currently many farmers, growers and slaughter houses rely upon the services of migrant workers, including vets. Prior to joining the Common Market, there was no difficulty recruiting staff from overseas. If dishonest scare tactics stopped, farmers and EU workers would soon realise that very little will change following Brexit, other than identifying those who come for a specific job and plan to return to their country of origin, from those coming as economic migrants.
 
As a nation we are very fickle. We like to consider ourselves patriotic and supportive of all things British. However, when it comes to our purchasing power we are not consistent or supportive of our producers. We could and should do so much better.
 
It is disappointing that the NFU fails to invest the funds which it collects from British farmers into vigorous marketing campaigns. The NFU and its officers are meant to be the voice of our industry. Instead of playing politics on the fringes, which they quite obviously are not very good at, their time and our money would be far better spent encouraging the public to ‘Buy British’, and inspire producers to widen their range to more exotic products.
 
If the public truly got behind the industry and insisted on filling our shopping trolleys with locally sourced in particular, British produce, the major supermarkets would have to follow our lead. We must also question the origin of food in restaurants and take away outlets.
 
We should lead the way with our purchasing power and not be led by the nose by multinational super stores, and coffee shops such as Costa Coffee doing their best to increase their profits.
 
At a time when our high streets are dying as we walk past on our way to one of the UKs 2,121 Costa Coffee shops, or drive past on the way to one of the 3,400 Tesco stores and others, we should think very carefully about what effect our thoughtless behaviour will have upon the future of our high streets and communities.
 
When did any of us last stop to speak to someone in a supermarket? They are impersonal, sterile environments. On the other hand, each time we drop into our local butcher, baker, and farm shop or news agent, it is rare to emerge without having caught up on local gossip, including news about recent births, marriages or those who have been recently dispatched.
 
We must support our local independent stores, and whenever possible demand British products. Then those farmers worrying about finding a regular market for their products, will have less reason to do so, and sleep much better at night.
 
So much has been said about Mrs May’s Withdrawal Agreement, it is hard to find new words to describe her duplicity. Not since Cameron and Osbourne circulated their Pro- Remain leaflet to every household prior to the Referendum, has such dishonesty been so widely distributed, as in her ‘open’ letter.
 
The Prime Minister treats the British public and democracy with utter contempt. Her ‘40 Reasons to Back the Brexit Deal’ are mostly untrue, and deeply damaging to the UK. Any MP intending to vote for this Agreement should seriously question their conscience.
 
The backstop is totally unacceptable, Mrs May cannot blackmail Parliament into agreeing a deal which permanently ties the United Kingdom to the EU.

The days are mellow, and the Sussex countryside is still glorious in the sunshine as leaves of many colours cling to branches, despite the tug of the increasingly bitter winds.
 
Urgent jobs around the farm are few, but there still remain many miles of hedgerows to be trimmed, and limbs to be cut back. Machinery repairs are important tasks which ensure equipment is ready to go when required in the New Year.
 
The cattle are snug in the barn on deep straw, munching contentedly on meadow hay made during the summer. They are fattening well thus ensuring the final product will be near perfection.
 
We should all be equally calm and mellow, but the goings on in Westminster is raising blood pressure across the country to alarming levels. How the Prime Minister can look the British public in the eye and declare her draft withdrawal agreement is Brexit, is beyond comprehension.
 
Her dishonesty is quite breathe taking, and does a disservice to those MPs who have tried in vain to guide her towards the Brexit which the British electorate by a considerable majority, voted for.
 
This is not Brexit. It denies us the opportunities Brexit offered to do free-trade deals and cut tariffs, if only she had played her cards right. Instead she has personally sabotaged the negotiations brokered, including the possibility of Canada Plus, by David Davis and Dominic Raab.
 
Her draft deal is worse than the status quo. It leaves us without influence, voting rights, control over our tariffs and custom arrangements, and ties the UK to the EU’s regulations, unable to open bilateral global trade negotiations.
 
It is little wonder that Mr Barnier and his colleagues are so eager to endorse this deal. It is exactly what they have spent the past two years working to achieve. With this betrayal Mrs May has handed the UK to Brussels, castrated on a plate.
 
Those who praise the Prime Minister for her fortitude under fire, misplace their admiration. Her duplicity has delivered Remain, which the Referendum failed to do. Why else would she vandalise the opportunities which Brexit offered?
 
We cannot allow Mrs May to sleep walk the UK over the cliff into the clutches of the EU, Germany and France in particular. We are not of them, nor are we their puppet.
 
Merkel and Macron have formed their own side show, an ‘alliance’, to promote EU unity, including an EU army – to protect them from Russia, China, India and the USA! This Franco- German duo have also set a new budget, and a joint Parliamentary assembly, consisting of 50 MPs from both countries, which will meet regularly.
 
So, Mrs May has decided to give away £39bn for nothing in return. She also ensures we will have to obey EU rules indefinitely, but have no say on how they are drafted. Keep Northern Ireland tied to the EU Customs Union and Dublin, with the backstop, and makes sure Great Britain remains in the Customs Union and the Single Market.
 
Mrs May has let the country down and failed to keep her word. She has repeatedly assured us that she would deliver Brexit. The MPs who are calling for her to stand down are right to do so. Let us hope they find a suitable replacement who has integrity, is principled and believes in democracy, free trade and Brexit. Mrs May and her Remain colleagues clearly do not.
 
It is also essential they replace the party chairman. The Tory party has had some questionable chairman in the past, but Brandon Lewis is a class act. His judgement it flawed, he clearly has little sense of loyalty, nor is he prepared to stand up for democracy. Between the pair of them they have let the country, and grass root Conservatives down, and probably made their party unelectable.

As I stood beside the War Memorial in Wivelsfield on Sunday, listening to the names of those who never returned to the village from both World Wars, it set me thinking about their legacy, those they left behind, and in particular the Godman family and the history of Ote Hall.
 
In the 13th Century the Estate was held by Richard de Ottehale. It then passed to Richard of Kentish from 1395 until 1419, and in 1537 Thomas Attree conveyed Ote Hall to Thomas Godman. Since when it has been the home of the Godmans, although its story has included several other families living here, including the Shirley, Tanner, Woods and Enthovens over the following 500 years.
 
Although the heart of the farm encompassing the farmhouse, agricultural buildings and cottages have remained constant in and around Wivelsfield, the land has at times extended to Keymer to the south, and Haywards Heath to the north, but fundamentally has remained roughly the same acreage.
 
My mother loved the farm. She became proficient, and hardworking, forward thinking and highly respected for her achievements, practical knowledge and attention to detail.
 
She adored her cattle and walked the fields daily, always on the lookout for pests of all shapes and sizes. These ranged from aphids and leather jackets eating the crops, to little boys setting fire to straw bales and standing crops. She took them all in her stride, and more often than not won the battle!
 
However, she had to learn quickly and unexpectedly.
 
On 25th September 1915 Captain Fredrick Tyrell Godman of the 9th Battalion, The Royal Sussex Regiment, 24th Division, was wounded and taken prisoner at Loos. He died in 1917 while in captivity at Holzminden, Germany, aged 41.
 
He left behind his widow Jose, and his only surviving son Thomas (Tony) Godman, who in due course married my mother in 1939.
 
They moved into Great Ote Hall which had been out of the family for some years, and took over the running of the farm. Tony joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, and was killed in action on HMS Havock, in the Mediterranean on 4th January 1942. He was 27 years old.
 
When he left to take command of his ship, my mother managed the farm. Having originated from a small fishing village in the north of Denmark, her knowledge regarding farming was scant, but her determination and hunger for knowledge was irrepressible.
 
She would regularly ride her horse to Plumpton College to seek advice and guidance from the principle Mr RHB Jesse.
 
The college had suspended normal courses during the War, and introduced short training modules for people joining the Woman’s Land Army. Several came to work at Ote Hall, along with some migrant workers and prisoners of war.
 
During the 19th Century, development of the British Empire had provided safe access to food from abroad. Importing from India, Canada and Australia became significant sources of wheat, and by 1914 imports were 60% with a population of 42 million.
 
During both World Wars, the British Government, somewhat belatedly, realised the need to maximise food production, as convoys on the high seas were lost to enemy action. “Dig for Victory” was the order of the day.
 
During WW1 170,000 male farmers were called up, representing one third of Great Britain’s farm work force. Half a million farm horses including from Ote Hall, were claimed by the War Office to help on the front line. Towards 1917 around 250,000 women were working as farm labourers, 23,000 in the land army.
 
In June 1939 the Women’s Land Army was reformed, and over 80,000 women worked on farms such as Ote Hall, where their support was invaluable.
 
Like many war widows my mother devoted her life to nurturing and improving the farm she had inherited from her young husband. Later she devoted equal attention to supporting my father in his political career.

The autumn has been kind to the farming community, following a difficult year. We have been able to get all the winter crops drilled, and livestock remain out.
 
This helps considerably on saving straw for winter bedding, and also stretches out the feed. Although they require supplementary feeding as there is little feed value in the grass, they are content.
 
As one views our glorious countryside, it is particularly distressing to hear reports of the increase in crime, and the slaughter of teenagers on the streets of London and other cities.
 
The police clearly cannot cope with the rise in gang war fare and violence. We need greater numbers on the streets, and communities engaging with the police.
 
The threat of ‘no win no fee’, lawyers who cost the tax paying public millions of pounds, paying out compensation, 50% of which goes to the lawyers, must end.
 
These cases span across all services from the Police to the NHS, and the Ambulance and Fire Services. We all accept these services for free. By doing so an automatic disclaimer should be in place, to cover any accidents, preventing us from being able to sue. If we don’t like this system, we can always seek help elsewhere. No doubt private companies covered by private insurance will spring up.
 
The re-introduction of National Service is now essential. It is no good saying it would be too costly. Escalating individual and mob violence, and the over flowing prisons, are a greater cost both financially and socially.
 
In Singapore all young men sign up for a compulsory two years. They then return for training each year for the following ten years, and must be prepared to be called up at any time.
 
During basic training they get fit and learn disciple. They are recruited to the armed services, police, as border guards or customs officers. This ensures there are plenty of boots on the ground, and wearing their distinctive uniforms their presence on the streets is highly visible.
 
British young men and women would benefit hugely, and there should be the option to train as nurses and community care services. There is a shortage of home grown young people entering these professions, and many will choose to continue their training after the compulsory two years.
 
National Service will ensure there is integration of communities, races and social backgrounds. Mix them up and they will learn to get along. Teach them how to accept discipline, structure and hard work. Some of it will stick and they will learn to respect others, and above all themselves.
 
The armed services need to toughen up. The recent announcements regarding women and transgender does not instil confidence, and is an insult to our highly disciplined, exceptionally able and fit professional troops.
 
During this special week as we remember our ancestors who gave their lives for us in both World Wars, we can be sure they would be dismayed to see the direction Great Britain is heading. It is time to toughen up.
 
Some Remainers oppose Brexit by saying the UK is too small to go it alone. Singapore has a population of just 6 million, compared to our official figure of 66 million.
 
In 1990 the average wage in Singapore was £500/month, here it was £1,000/month. Today in Singapore it is £5,000/month, in the UK £2,500.
 
Tax in Singapore is 10 – 12%. MPs are paid one millions pounds per annum! They are highly skilled, experienced people, who are incorruptible, and do not claim expenses.
 
Westminster would do well to emulate this system, and at the same time reduce dramatically the number of MPs. The proposed boundary changes should be re visited urgently.
 
David Cameron is apparently considering returning to Westminster. I wonder which party he would join, as on past form he certainly is not a Conservative.