Wednesday, September 25, 2024
Confor, in collaboration with leading forestry and wood industry businesses, brought the trees and timber message directly to the Government by engaging with Forestry Minister Mary Creagh MP and various ministers and politicians during the Labour Party conference in Liverpool. Chief Executive Stuart Goodall held discussions with Trade Minister Douglas Alexander MP, Scottish Secretary Ian Murray MP, and Daniel Johnson MSP, Labour’s business lead in the Scottish Parliament, who visited the stand to explore the economic opportunities that forestry and wood processing can offer.
Senior representatives from James Jones & Sons Ltd, the BSW Group, and Scottish Woodlands Ltd partnered with Confor to brief Minister Mary Creagh and her Defra colleague, Baroness Hayman, Labour’s spokesperson on rural affairs in the House of Lords.
The conference was also an excellent opportunity to discuss the industry with a range of new MPs, including David Smith and Joe Morris, who won North Northumberland (previously Berwick-upon-Tweed) and Hexham, both important forestry and wood processing constituency.
Mary Foy, MP for City of Durham, also dropped by to speak about the significant investment planned by James Jones & Sons in its Taylormade site in her constituency – and there was also engagement with delegates from Wales, including Steve Witherden, MP for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr.
Other new MPs who visited the Confor stand, to be pictured with the pledge card to support the forestry and wood industry, included Lee Pitcher, Graeme Downie, Josh Dean, Frank McNally, Kenneth Stevenson, Blair McDougall and Torcuil Crichton. Confor also welcomed Baroness Young of Old Scone, long-term member of Confor’s All-Party Parliamentary Group at Westminster.
According to Stuart Goodall: “Party conferences are always an excellent way to meet a wide range of politicians – and this is especially important when we have a new Government in power at Westminster.”
“Confor and the company representatives had many really important conversations with key politicians about how the industry can support the new UK Government’s priorities – particularly around rural economic growth, sustainable house building and timber security.” Stuart added further.
Confor members James Jones & Sons Ltd (JJS), Scottish Woodlands Ltd (SWL), and BSW Group supported the Confor presence at the conference. They were represented by David Leslie, Joint Managing Director of JJS, David Robertson, Investment & Business Development Director at SWL and Andrew Henry, Nursery Director of Maelor Forest Nurseries, part of the BSW Group.
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