STRUGGLING West Somerset dairy farmers could be given a lifeline thanks to a new piece of legislation being championed by Conservative MP Ian Liddell-Grainger.

Mr Liddell-Grainger, MP for Bridgwater and West Somerset, is planning to present a bill to Parliament which would make it illegal for any food to be sold below the cost of production and he believes this could ease Britain’s dairy crisis overnight.

The move follows widespread protests targeting large retailers, with distribution centres block, milk removed from shelves and cows even being brought into supermarkets.

Mr Liddell-Grainger said that the current crisis had now reached a point where it requires parliamentary intervention, describing the aim of the legislation as ‘a living wage for dairy farmers’.

“All politicians need to be made aware that we are drinking in the last chance milk bar; another year of this and we will be plunging headlong towards a dairy-free zone,” he said.

“I’m afraid governments of both colours have watched this crisis creeping up ever since we got rid of the Milk Marketing Board.

“They have seen farmer co-operatives collapse, they have seen supermarkets and processors come to dominate the market and put farmers in a stranglehold, but they have done absolutely nothing about it.”

Mr Liddell-Grainger is planning to work on the new bill with dairy farmers and producers, and plans to introduce the legislation when parliament returns in September.

“In this constituency we have Robert Wiseman Dairies, Yeo Valley and a number of dairy farmers so we have both sides of the equation and need to get it right for all concerned,” he said.

Farmers have been staging protests at supermarkets nationwide and this has prompted Morrison’s to introduce a ‘Milk for Farmers’ brand which gives the option of paying 10p extra per litre.

Mr Liddell-Grainger described this as a ‘good start’ but said there was still a lot more to be done.

“The fact is that British consumers have shown since the latest farmer protests started that they are willing to pay more for their milk: indeed thousands of the surviving independent dairies already do and do so happily,” he said.

“Under those circumstances it is entirely feasible for the shelf price to be raised to a decent level, so that a reasonable profit can be delivered back to the farmer.”

The National Farmers Union welcomed the news but is waiting to see the exact wording of the legislation before committing support.

An NFU spokesman said: “We welcome Mr Liddell-Grainger’s support and anything that brings parliamentary attention to the plight of dairy farmers is very welcome indeed. We will wait to see if this is the answer.”