Brexit

A farmer has set out three ways he believes the UK Government can protect food production standards without banning low standard imports.

Breaking away from restrictive EU rules on gene editing should be a no-brainer for Government, and we have provided a means to do this through the Agriculture Bill, says Julian Sturdy MP, chair of the Science and Technology in Agriculture APPG.

The House of Lords has an opportunity to ensure our production standards are protected in the Agriculture Bill, and it must, because we cannot afford to get this piece of legislation wrong, says Martin Lines, chairman of the Nature Friendly Farming Network.

Food price rises will be inevitable if the UK Government maintains its proposed global tariffs in a no-deal Brexit scenario, a leading trade expert has warned.

A battle is currently taking place over whether the UK’s iconic regional foods will be protected in the EU after Brexit, and this is one fight we must win, says Jackie Evans, managing director of agriculture and land management at ADAS.

The Agriculture Bill provided an opportunity to make empty shelves and empty stomachs a thing of the past, but it is an opportunity missed, says Luke Pollard, Labour’s Shadow Defra Secretary.

NFU president Minette Batters has said the battle over protecting standards in trade deals is the ‘biggest political challenge’ the union has ever faced.

North East MSP Mike Rumbles has called for changes to be made to the Scottish Agriculture Bill to limit Ministers’ power over future policy.

NFU Cymru president John Davies has called on the Welsh Government to pause and review its work on post-Brexit policy as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

With the final take-up of the Pick For Britain scheme patchy, Government must come up with a ‘Plan B’ to ensure growers can continue to access enough labour after Brexit, says Daniel Zeichner, Labour’s Shadow Farming Minister.