Farming facing ‘cliff-edge Brexit’ Duncan tells NFU
The UK farming and fishery industries will lead the charge out of Europe if the UK’S negotiating stance holds sway – and be outside the single market and the common agricultural policy (CAP) in 2019, a top Conservative politician revealed yesterday.
Speaking at NFU Scotland’s autumn conference, Scottish Office minister Lord Duncan delivered a political bombshell when he said that UK Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Michael Gove, wanted the two sectors to be excluded from any transition agreement negotiated with Brussels.
Such a move would mean that uk farmers would face a cliff-edge Brexit in March 2019, two years ahead of other sectors of industry.
“We want to move away from these common policies as soon as possible – but obviously the final outcome is subject to the negotiations,” said Duncan.
“We don’t want to get tangled in the undergrowth and to make sure that we to get out as soon as possible – but safely.”
The announcement took the audience, industry leaders, experts and political opponents by surprise.
Mike Russell MSP, Scotland’s Brexit secretary, said that this position was totally contrary to what had been conveyed to the Scottish Government by Prime Minister, Theresa May and contradicted the undertakings which she had given in her Florence speech.
“If this is the stance being taken by Michael Gove then it simply adds to the chaos and confusion surrounding the issue,” he said. “Whether this is an announcement being made for political reasons or is due to a simple lack of clarity, it highlights the fact that it is impossible to know what the UK government’s position is on the key areas of policy.”
And the news also came as a shock to NFUS, which had been looking for continued frictionless access to the single market along with an extended transition period.
“The announcement has taken us totally by surprise,” said union president Andrew Mccornick. “Mothing which has been said before has given us reason to think that such a move was on the cards.”
Duncan said that the administration would stand by its undertaking to maintain the total quantum of farm support through to the end of the current parliament, adding that if, as was expected, this extended beyond the next round of CAP reforms UK farmers could actually see themselves having a year of higher payments than farmers on continental Europe.
However, with little progress on discussions on the details of domestic policy and no indication of what future trade policies would be in place for the industry in 18 months, such a move would not only add new urgency to the time pressures for reaching agreement on these issues but also add to the uncertainty facing producers who are currently taking decisions which will bear fruit in 2019, it was said.
Industry analyst Tom Hind, who outlined the Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board’s modelling exercise on possible Brexit outcomes, also expressed surprise at the news, saying it added to the urgency with which politicians should address the issues and with which farmers should review their own businesses.