I recently attended a drop-in National Farmers Union (NFU) ‘Back British Farming’ event at Westminster to show my ongoing support for sustainable future for British farming. I was proud to wear my wheatsheaf badge to publicly display my support for the campaign and the sector, which is being threatened by Brexit negotiations.
The negotiations are critical to the future of British farming. A ‘no deal’ Brexit would be detrimental to the industry for a variety of reasons.
The exportation of animal product and animals would be hugely impacted as the UK will be required to secure a license from the EU to export. This process can take a minimum of 6 months, immediately impacting livelihoods and incomes negatively as the total value of farm-related exports to the EU stands currently at £13 billion. Alterations to the free movement of workers will also have a serious impact on our farming industry.
British farming is integral to British economy, employing around 3.8 million people. The industry manages the countryside safely, acting as the foundations for the British food and drink industry, which fuels the economy with £110 billion. The Government must ensure the right environment for farmers to continue their business with as little disruption as possible.
This is a critical time for the farming sector, and I feel strongly about supporting the future of farming – as my Twitter followers will know, I love listening to Farming Today on BBC Radio 4 on a morning and tweeting along! I’ll be continuing to monitor the situation as the negotiations proceed.
Barry Sheerman 