Tory ‘Power grab’ must be repelled
It’s sometimes hard to believe that the UK hasn’t been a member of the EU for nearly nine months now.
Where once it was all that dominated the headlines, the coronavirus pandemic has, perfectly reasonably, been at the forefront of everyone’s minds since March.
But the spectre of Brexit was always there and as we hurtle towards the end of the transition period it once again rears its ugly head.
The latest Brexit gambit from the Tory government is the UK Internal Market Bill, published last week. That innocuous sounding title masks a full blown assault on devolution and the beginning of a race to the bottom when it comes to vital regulations.
Simply put, the Bill will essentially grant UK ministers a veto over any devolved area and means that where England goes Scotland will be made to follow. This could have devastating consequences for agriculture in Perthshire which will already come under incredible strain as a consequence of Brexit.
Scotland’s success as a food producer is in large part based on its reputation for quality. The UK Government has made no secret of its desire to pursue free trade deals with countries like Australia and the USA, which operate to far lower food standards than we do domestically.
The result is that Perthshire farmers will either be priced out the market or forced to slash their standards to compete, destroying the well-earned reputation for quality. The prospect of chlorinated chicken on supermarket shelves has become cliché in the Brexit debate but it does neatly illustrate the very real and reckless policies being pursued by Boris Johnson’s government.
Of course, the Tories deny they have any intention of lowering food standards. But quite apart from the fact that the Tories have given us very little reason to take them at their word since coming to power, the Internal Market Bill is still enormously dangerous.
It gives every subsequent UK Government the power to tear up any Scottish Government policy at will, tying the hands of any future minister seeking to provide Scottish agriculture with the support it needs.
The Scottish Government has the full support of the Greens in fighting back against this reckless Tory power grab. But when it comes to aspects of de-regulation the SNP should be consistent.
The Internal Market Bill paves the way for the establishment of‘Free Ports’, which allow tax avoidance and slashed environmental standards within their boundaries.
SNP councillors and MPs have already made positive noises about a Dundee Free Port and Tory Chancellor Rishi Sunak is a particularly strong advocate.
The evidence suggests that Free Ports simply don’t work in generating economic activity, and in many cases are actively harmful for the wider community. It would be unwise to pick and choose which parts of the Tory regulatory bonfire are acceptable for Scotland. This attack on devolution must be repelled in its entirety.