Rishi Sunak has emerged the winner of the internal Conservative Party race to become the next Prime Minister of the UK.
Sunak, who supported Brexit in the 2016 referendum, will replace outgoing UK Prime Minister Liz Truss who lasted just 45 days in the job.
The 42-year-old, who was previously chancellor of the exchequer, campaigned for and supported Brexit.
One of his key messages in his previous leadership race for the UK Prime Minister job was to “keep Brexit safe”.
During Sunak’s previous leadership campaign he also made no secret of his views on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
He claimed that CAP had done nothing to deliver for “farmers, farming and the environment” and described it as “indefensible that 50% of the budget went to just 10% of the largest landowners.”
Sunak has been keen to highlight his support for farmers and farming communities as a member of the UK parliament for Richmond (Yorks).
He has previously identified food security and food production as a key issue for the UK to focus on.
On his constituency Richmond (Yorks) website he states:
“Farming is vital to our rural economy and communities. From the Upper Dales to Great Ayton, from sheep to dairy to arable, through Auction Marts at Hawes, Leyburn and Northallerton, farming touches every part of the constituency.”
He said through visiting farms and auction marts and speaking with dozens of farmers, he had worked hard to understand the issues facing the farming communities.
Sunak has also encouraged people to directly support farmers by buying British.
“Food labeling standards should be stricter – when shoppers want to 'Buy British' they should 'Get British'. I will also support efforts to encourage businesses to source locally – this would be beneficial for local farmers.”
As part of his pledge “standing up for farmers” he also details on his constituency website that he wants to help farmers “capitalise on the great opportunities ahead having left the European Union and the Common Agricultural Policy”.
“As global food consumption rises, efficient and competitive farms can grow and export around the world," he said.
"Farming is already a great British industry and I will ensure it has every opportunity to flourish in the years ahead.”
Now as the next UK Prime Minister farming bodies in the UK and Northern Ireland will be looking to Sunak to make good on these pledges.
But one of the first tasks that will face Sunak as he steps into the Prime Minister job will be to immediately address the ongoing political stalemate in Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Protocol bill, backed by outgoing Prime Minister Truss.
The bill currently going through the UK House of Lords aims to change the Northern Ireland Protocol, the protocol was designed to ensures that Northern Ireland remains in the UK customs territory while also aligned to a limited set of European Union single market rules to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland.
Sunak has previously said that he believes the current Brexit agreement has caused economic and political harm and has called on the EU to be “flexible” in its ongoing discussions in relation to Brexit issues.
The next Prime Minister has adopted an almost hands-off approach to Northern Ireland in the past, he has visited only once and is not known to have any close working relationships with any political parties in Northern Ireland.
As former UK Prime Ministers will testify this may not be the case once he takes up residence in No. 10 Downing Street.
