A big fuss. I went to the Bath and West Show and didn't like what I saw. I felt it was no longer a proper showcase for farmers. So I wrote about it in the Western Daily Press on June 9th:

"The Royal Bath & West Show is one of the great landmarks on the West Country's social calendar. Organisers of lesser events set their clocks by it. THE Royal Bath & West Show is one of the great landmarks on the West Country's social calendar. Organisers of lesser events set their clocks by it. Holidays are arranged around it to avoid clashing. It is spoken of in the kind of revered tones normally reserved for discussing some profoundly significant religious celebration.Well, keep believing in it, if you will. Personally, I have stopped. If the Bath & West claims to be a showcase for West Country farming then it is failing miserably. What I found last week was a cross between a flea market and a car boot sale with a few animals added on. It was, I am sorry to say, tacky. There was, to be sure, a programme of "entertainment". But for me, the most intriguing form of entertainment was playing "Spot the Farmer", a game which occupied me for the whole of the day and in which I scored staggeringly poorly. And why? Because in trying to broaden its appeal the Bath & West has now ceased to become a show for farmers. There are few, if any machinery exhibits. Hobby farmers can buy a chicken coop or a rotovator. Serious farmers can even exhibit their animals - if they can afford to, given the enormous costs of doing so and the paltry value of the "prizes" they receive. But otherwise, it is an agglomeration of fun-fair rides and kiss-me-quick hats more appropriate to the seafront at Weston- super-Mare, and which we are now asked to pay an eye-watering £18 for the privilege of enjoying. There are, however, two other issues which have led me to the conclusion that the Bath & West, in its current form, has really had its day: access to the site, and the permanent buildings. It is an unarguable fact that if you were going to start from scratch and set up the Bath & West today, Shepton Mallet is the last place you would put it. The site was originally chosen as the one where the event would put down its roots after years of being a moveable feast because it was in the very heartland of West Country farming. That is an irrelevant factor today, given the show's completely different format. What we now have, however, is an event which takes place in one of the most inaccessible parts of the county. Getting there is a nightmare - and a lengthy one - no matter which direction you approach it from. Tales abound at every event of how long it took to reach it from the M5, of people taking two hours to get there from Bristol.In an age when we enjoy greater mobility the Bath & West is a reminder of the misery of the pre-motorway days and 20-mile queues of holiday traffic at the Exeter bypass. Then there are the buildings: a disgraceful conglomeration of ramshackle sheds with not a speck of architectural merit between them, a depressing mix of time-expired industrial warehouses, wooden huts and nondescript office blocks - hardly the trappings of a flagship event. The Bath & West has all the charm of a faded actress: fine when the sun is shining and you can't see the cracks. But they don't half show up when it rains. We have been hearing for years of grandiose plans to redevelop, to remodel, to turn the showground into a state-of-the-art exhibition facility. And that's all the present regime appears able to do: talk about it.As for the hosting of the Royal Smithfieldin December, I am already cringing. What are the country's top exhibitors, the international judges and the spectators going to think when they arrive at the Bath & Wasteland in the middle of winter? Locals are already getting inquiries from other parts of the country for details of the showground hotels from people who are used to visiting somewhat better-appointed venues, and are incredulous that they could end up having to doss down miles away from the event.I am sorry: the Bath & West, in its present form and on its current site, has had its day. My remedy? Move it and start afresh. Much as the first momentous decision was taken to give it a permanent home, another must now be made to find a successor - and go there, as quickly as possible. The Government wants lots of new homes, and the current showground is the ideal size for the creation of a new village. The millions that would be made from selling the land for development could then be used to resite the Bath & West on a new, purpose-built, well-equipped and up-to-date showground somewhere along the M5 corridor through Somerset. This is not a personal plea to bring it to my constituency: there are a number of potential locations in Wellington, Tauntonand Burnham-on-sea. All are level, and all have excellent motorway access. The deal could be done leaving plenty of change in the bank to secure the show's long-term future. It could then examine its own agenda and perhaps follow the example of the Three Counties and declare its main event, with a little more honesty, to be a "countryside" show, while developing a programme of separate, specialist shows for its farming audience.More important, it could perhaps become a true showcase for the very best of 21st-century West Country agriculture."                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

On June 10th The Chief Executive of the Bath and West, Jane Guise, was given equal space to respond: 

Oh dear, oh dear - Mr Liddell-Grainger MP has completely missed the point, or perhaps I have! I am not going to respond to his criticisms of the show as I am sure he will get plenty of responses from the owners of the 2,420 livestock entries, not to mention the agricultural trade exhibitors (more than 100), eco-friendly organisations, cider- makers, cheesemakers, environmentalists and volunteers (500).These people come together for a week in late May or early June each year, and gain a huge amount of business and enjoyment from our show.They will be able to be more forthright than I am, and I hope I can use the good offices of your newspaper to encourage them to write and say what they think.I am really sorry I omitted to include Mr Liddell-Grainger in the many working groups which have taken place during the last four years to establish our future role. He obviously has some very firm ideas about what we should do. They are, however, diametrically opposed to those of the many experts who have contributed. We are not primarily an exhibition management company. The Royal Bath & West of EnglandSociety is an agricultural charity with a remit to support the rural economy. We do that very well: £20million in Mendip, £40million in the rest of Somerset, £100million in the South West and £164million in the whole of the UK is generated for rural business as a result of our activities - two-thirds of that produced from the Eden Project (with very little support from the taxpayer).
The centre of activity is in an economically deprived area of the West Country, and it is important that it stays where it is - for reasons of economic regeneration. New facilities are urgently needed if we are to continue this economic activity, and improve upon it.The Regional Development Agency is heavily involved in helping us to do this, as are Mendip District Council and Somerset County Council, but engaging with public bodies is a very long and arduous process.Does Mr Liddell-Grainger have some access to information regarding the local plan to which I am not party?If building houses all over the 250 acres was even a remote possibility, the sensible business decision would be to do that. But re-establishing a showground elsewhere, perhaps near the motorway, would not be a given. We might consider leaving that to exhibition companies and simply invest the resulting investment income in agricultural projects. It would be much easier to prove our charitable worth to the Treasury in that situation.Perhaps we might consider running peripatetic shows on farms throughout the region and avoid all the headaches of estate management which we currently experience.The West Country might then just miss the £100million of economic activity which our presence stimulates, apart from all the other things our show means to its participants.I have no real issue with Mr Liddell-Grainger's comments apart from his lack of research and understanding of the issues.The only two points I would make fairly strongly are: freedom of speech is not freedom of insult. My staff are totally exhausted from their efforts of the last few weeks, and ill-informed insults from those who should be supporting success in the region are less than helpful. And challenge my intellect as much as you wish, but don't denigrate the efforts of staff and volunteers.It is a shame he does not like paying £18 to come and see our show - but he did not have to. He was a guest of the society via the Country Landowners and Business Association and as such had a free ticket. I can only assume that he spent too much time in their marquee (for which they are renowned) and failed to see the rest of the show, resulting in his jaded view of what many, including myself, consider a triumph. It's a good job that 163,169 people did not take the same view.  

This response is very fishy indeed. Ms Guise quotes multi millions of money generated for the rural economy "as a result of the Bath and West's activities". But how? The official published returns of the Charity Commission show that the Royal Bath and West Society actually made a loss in their last accounts. Have a look at the link below. And if you have a view, please  CONTACT ME

(We are not responsible for the content of external web sites)

• http://www.guidestar.org.uk/gs_summary.aspx?CCReg=1039397&strquery=royal%20bath%20and%20west%20agriculture%20society ROYAL BATH and WEST ACCOUNTS
• http://www.bathandwest.com/ The Royal Bath and West Website
• http://www.westpress.co.uk/    READ ALL ABOUT IT in the Western Daily Press