SNP fires the opening shots in post-brexit ‘trade war’
●Holyrood warns it will not accept a Westminster ban on livestock exports
The Scottish Government fired the first salvo in a possible post-brexit trade war, threatening to pull out of co-operation with the UK on agriculture in a dispute over livestock exports.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove is believed to be preparing to announce a ban on all live exports of animals for slaughter after the UK leaves the European Union in a move that would hit Scottish hill farmers.
Holyrood Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing said a ban would do “substantial harm” to Scottish farmers and warned the Scottish Government would not take part in any Ukwide framework on agriculture that prevented live animal exports.
Talks between Edinburgh and London are already bogged down over how to share control of some of the 111 powers in devolved areas. Agriculture is one of the areas under debate, with UK ministers seeking to avoid different animal welfare standards creating a trade barrier at the Scottish border, putting deals with the EU and other countries at risk.
Up to 40,000 sheep are exported from the UK each year, with 6,000 destined for abattoirs in France and
An SNP MEP is calling for Scotland to have its own entry in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Alyn Smith said he believes that, rather than being represented by the United Kingdom, the home nations should take it in turns to represent the country.
Countries of the UK with television stations that hold membership to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) – such as STV in Scotland and UTV in Northern Ireland – would alternate covering the event.
Mr Smith also criticised the BBC for its “snide” coverage of the 62-year-old competition.
He said: “It’s a little bit snide and grudging the way the BBC does it. This is a stage on which we could shine, whereas the way that the BBC does it still is, ‘This is a bit of camp nonsense and it’s rubbish, and it’s great because it’s rubbish, and it’s great because it’s camp’.”
Many countries on the Continent take the singing contest seriously and see it as an opportunity to present their nation to a global audience of 182 million.
Mr Smith argued that Scotland could do the same. “This is a shop window that Scotland could have once every four years presently, or indeed in an independent Scotland every year, to an audience of the entire European continent and wider,” he said.