Candidates campaigning to be the new North Northumberland MP faced questions on rural life ahead of the election. Five of the seat's eight candidates faced questions from the public at a hustings event in Alnwick on Wednesday. The event, organised by the Alnwick branch of Friends of the Earth and the Northumberland Wildlife Trust, focused on environmental issues.
The would-be MPs fielded queries around the future of the environment and the impact of Green policies on the countryside. Labour's David Smith outlined the party's commitment to farmers set out in the manifesto. Read more: North Northumberland general election candidate slams 'undemocratic' hustings after she wasn't invited Keep up to date with all the latest breaking news and top stories from the North East with our free newsletter The charity boss said: "I have two kids and I want them to grow up in a beautiful, natural environment.
We talk about environmental land management in our manifesto. "Rewilding and biodiversity net gain is something we focus on, but it has to to come alongside food security. It is not an answer to keep importing huge swathes of food.
"I have seen some great examples of this, fantastic examples in North Northumberland such as at West Chevington. It's about balance - we need to live in balance with nature, but farming need to be able to work financially for farmers. "What we can do is absolutely get behind our farming communities and acknowledge the fact that we want as much food produced .