A total of 99 of the 650 MPs in the House of Commons have signed the NFU’s post EU referendum farming pledge. The farming union held an event outside the House of Commons on Wednesday to coincide with Prime Minister’s Questions to build support for the campaign.

Seven points are set out in the farming pledge, including building UK food security and productivity of farming, giving British farmers best possible access to markets, implementing science-based policies and introducing an agricultural policy that will not put UK farmers at a competitive disadvantage.

Signatories included Defra Secretary of State Andrea Leadsom and Defra Minister George Eustice. Five MPs from Northern Ireland signed the pledge; the DUPs Jeffrey Donaldson, Ian Paisley, Jim Shannon and David Simpson, as well as the SDLP’s Alasdair McDowell.

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The event ran with a social media campaign #BackBritishFarmingDay which coincided with the end of the NFU’s consultation with members on post-Brexit UK agricultural policy. The consultation involved 49 meetings across England and Wales with the views being taken to the NFU Council in October.

The union also handed out wheat lapel badges for MPs to wear during question time of Wednesday.

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