Get real over Brexit’s fallout

Sir, – Your issue of February 5 highlighted the plight of soft fruit growers obtaining enough labour to harvest their crop due to the constraints imposed by Brexit (“Gove promises ‘clarity’ on migrant workers scheme by next month”). In the letters page of the same issue we have Mr Derek Farmer impertinently telling the Scottish Parliament to “butt-out” of interfering in the Brexit negotiations (“SNP should stick to its day job”, Letters, February 5).

This indicates two things: firstly, the eponymous Mr Farmer probably does not grow soft fruit on his farm and secondly, he has absolutely no idea what the Scottish Parliament is for.

The Scottish Parliament, whatever its political hue, exists to

protect the interests of Scotland.

As the soft fruit growers have shown we desperately need itinerant labour from the continent to gather the harvest.

There are other areas where we need migrants too, such as the NHS.

All these much-needed people will be banned from Scotland if the little Englander brigade with their blimpish “It’s all the fault of Johnny Foreigner, y’know!” attitude have their way.

Derek Farmer is obviously pro-Brexit.

He may start changing his mind when he finds he has to increase his employees’ wages because there are not enough young people in Scotland to work on his farm.

In the meantime I suggest he thinks a little more deeply about the effect Brexit will have on the Scottish economy. Jim Robertson. 194 High Street, Montrose.