David Handley (farmer)

For the British Olympic cyclist, see David Handley (cyclist).

David Handley is the leader of the militant pressure group Farmers for Action.

Biography

He was a leader of the UK fuel protestors in September 2000. He unsuccessfully challenged for the leadership of the British National Farmers Union and was backed by senior Conservative Party activist Mark MacGregor.

In spite of this he is still a popular and well-known figure among UK farmers, having twice been voted by readers of Farmers Weekly their 'Personality of the Year'. In 2005 he was presented with the Dairy Industry Award. On 10 May 2007 he was presented with the Princess Royal Award for his significant contribution to the UK dairy industry by The Princess Royal at a private reception at Buckingham Palace. On 6 June 2012, Handley, who leads a group called Farmers for Actions, was interviewed on the Today Programme about the price of milk. He said "we are looking at disruption of the milk supply, and that could come in many forms and this country is now running into something that is going to be very special to a lot of people, and that is the Olympic Games". He also said that "part of our action is likely to disrupt that".

See also

• Canadian agrarian activism

External links

• NFU presidential vote draws closer and the battle is hotting up
• Sour times for dairy farmers
• Farmers For Action website