UKVA welcomes return to ‘business as normal’ as Gove heads Defra

The English wine industry has welcomed the government’s “rapid return to business as normal” following last week’s election, and the appointment of a new Defra Minister, who will take on responsibility for the UK’s burgeoning wine industry.

Barry Lewis, chief executive of the Uk Vine Association (UKVA), the trade body for the English wine industry, welcomed former Tory Minister Michael Gove’s appointment as Environment Minister, pointing to his previous experience in government.

“Mr Gove has a lot of top level experience and knows how to get things done and I am sure he will be someone we can really do business with,” he told db. “Now more than ever as we go forwards into the Brexit negotiations we need people of Mr Gove’s calibre and experience to bring stability and deliver a good deal for UK farming and our industry.”

The controversial Tory minister’s appointment as the new minister for the Environment, Food, Farming and Rural Affairs, was announced yesterday in a cabinet reshuffle following the general election on Thursday. Beleaguered Prime Minister Theresa May has brought back the pro-Brexit minister, who she beat in the Tory election race last year, in a surprise move following last week’s election, which resulted in a hung Parliament after the Conservative’s majority was slashed. May was widely expected to win a landslide majority and called the election to “strengthen her hand” and provider her with a stronger mandate to lead the Brexit negotiations.

Gove is the fourth Defra secretary to be appointed in five years. He replaces Andrea Leadsom, who was appointed to the role in July 2016 after May won the Tory leadership race and moved Defra minister Liz Truss to head up the Justice Dept as Lord Chancellor.

Truss was appointed to the role in 2014 and held the first ever English wine roundtable last year to bring together producers and retailers to discuss boosting production and opening up new routes to markets. She replaced Owen Patterson who joined the department in 2012.

Acreage under vine in the UK has more than doubled in the last decade, and nearly tripled since 2000, with the latest hectarage officially for 2016 now standing at 2,077ha, a figures set to rise to 2,330 ha by 2017, after a further 1 million vines are planted.

However production volumes dipped by nearly 20% below average production in 2016, due to a combination of cool conditions during the summer and a lack of moisture in the later part of the growing season.

The cabinet reshuffle has made no change to the two departments in charge of Brexit, with David Davies continuing in his role as Brexit Secretary, and Liam Fox heading up the International Trade Department, which will oversee global trade agreements.