Britain ‘risks crippling its reputation for free trade’
THE GOVERNMENT has today been warned that Britain risks “crippling” its reputation as a free trading nation if it quits Europe’s customs union as a senior financial chief outlined the multi-billion-pound cost that would emerge if the nation quits the European Union without a deal.
Senior Remain-backing MPs have issued the stark warning about the damage that Brexit could cause a week ahead of crunch votes on the Government’s plan for Britain’s divorce from the EU.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable, Tory former Minister Anna Soubry and Labour’s Chuka Umunna denounced as a “profound mistake” Brexiteers’ claims that new deals with countries like the USA and China will make up for trade lost due to withdrawal from the EU.
Mr Umunna said next Tuesday’s vote offers MPs “the chance to defeat a hard Brexit once and for all” by backing an amendment requiring Ministers to negotiate a new relationship with the customs union, while former Business Secretary Sir Vince said: “The notion that a raft of new deals can be done swiftly or bring overall benefit to the UK economy has now been exposed as a fantasy.”
And the head of HM Revenue and Customs Jon Thompson claimed yesterday that quitting the EU without a deal would cost Britain £20bn. Mr Thompson has faced criticism over claims in May the customs plan favoured by Brexiteers would hit businesses by the same amount if it is implemented.
But the customs boss defended the figure when he appeared before MPs and said a “similar” amount would be lost if the Government fails to secure an agreement with Brussels.
Meanwhile, disagreement with Britain’s decision to quit the European Union has reached its highest point since the 2016 Brexit referendum, according to a new poll. The YouGov survey found 47 per cent of voters thought the decision to leave was wrong, against just 40 per cent who said it was the right thing to do – the widest margin since the weekly survey began two years ago.
A WHITEHALL watchdog has today called for future farm support funding to be ring-fenced, as it urged the Government to address a lack of detail in its proposals for a new agricultural policy.
When Britain leaves the European Union, it will no longer be governed by the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy which sees £3bn in subsidies paid each year to UK farmers, mostly awarded directly based on the amount of land they have.
In its recent ‘Health and Harmony’ consultation paper, the Government proposed to instead focus those payments on farmers’ delivery of “public goods”, such as creating wildlife habitat, protecting landscapes, reducing flooding and improving air quality.
But the parliamentary Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) Committee wants bolder financial promises to safeguard funding beyond 2022, and the post-Brexit transition to a new system of support.
In a report out today, the committee said: “We are concerned to hear that there have been minimal discussions between Defra (the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) and the Treasury over the future funding of the new agricultural policy.”
It continues: “The Government should commit... to fully fund the future agricultural policy and ring-fence the funds that are released from the withdrawal of direct payments to fund the rural economy and the environment.”
MPs on the committee also want consideration to be given to other support mechanisms for farms, such as tax breaks and capital grants to drive investment in technology that can boost farming’s productivity.
Their report explains how 42 per cent of farms are not profitable without direct payments and so the Government should produce a thorough impact assessment of removing payments so support can be targeted where it will be needed most.
MPs also say broad support exists for animal health and welfare to be among the “public goods” that receive public money. Defra, they say, should explore how this could be achieved through trials during the transition period.
MPs also want trade agreements with other countries to demand that imported products meet British standards, and that a “race to the bottom” on standards is avoided if self-regulation and potential deregulation is pursued post-Brexit.
MP Neil Parish, the committee’s chairman, welcomed much of Defra’s intent on its proposals for future policy, but said: “There is a notable lack of detail in the Government’s paper... and we seek more clarity on funding, delivery and timing.
“The Government risks not achieving its ambition and risks damaging the sector.”
A Defra spokesperson said: “We have set out ambitious proposals to raise productivity and move away from land-based subsidies so we can reward farmers for the public goods they provide.
“We have committed to match the £3bn in farm support until the end of this Parliament in 2022, followed by a longer agricultural transition period to give farmers time to adapt. We had more than 44,000 responses to our consultation which we are analysing before bringing forward an Agriculture Bill later this year.
“We welcome the support shown by the Efra Committee for this consultation and will respond to their report in due course.”
We seek more clarity on funding, delivery and timing. MP Neil Parish, chairman of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.