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European Commission

Having lived in Switzerland and seen the massive subsidies—a much greater share of state revenue than in this country—that the Swiss taxpayer has to give to its farmers because they are not in the CAP, I am not entirely convinced by my hon. Friend's argument. Furthermore, to make an agricultural policy stick is a matter not just of subsidy but of import and export of agricultural goods, and the ineluctable and natural tendency of any farming lobby since the far-off days of the Roman empire is to ensure the protection of borders. The hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr. Davey) smiles at that reference to ancient history, but Socrates, who predated the Roman empire, said that the man who does not know the price of a bushel of wheat will not last long in politics. If Socrates were an adviser to the NFU today, he would find that that aphorism still applies.