BRITAIN'S farmers could hardly expect much sympathy to begin with from New Labour with its London-led, townie southern middle-class values.

But it was refreshing nonetheless that Tony Blair went to the National Farmers' Union yesterday without a cartload of new subsidies and told the the ever-complaining agriculture lobby to stop whingeing.

For while it might be the case that a strong pound and the self-inflicted BSE crisis has crippled the incomes of many farmers in recent years - after the first half the 1990s saw them double, mind - what needed spelling out to them is that they are not automatically owed a living by the rest of us.

Farming is, after all, a small industry now, contributing only a tiny one per cent to UK earnings, as Mr Blair pointed out.

Yet it has sucked up £433 million in extra aid since the election and is still not satisfied.

But why should taxpayers continually subsidise industries that are uneconomic?

What's so special about agriculture?

If farmers don't understand the answer, they should ask any ex-miner, former cotton weaver or one-time shoe industry worker who has had to come into the harsh, real world.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.