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OPINION: 'Shambolic times - history will not treat this crop of politicians kindly'
One minute you think spring’s here, the next you turn your back and it’s heavy rain, snow and gales, writes Phil Latham.
One minute you think spring’s here, the next you turn your back and it’s heavy rain, snow and gales.
The low-yielding cows are battling through the weather and are still outside in the daytime. Given the winter forage stocks, this has been a great bonus, as we have managed to reduce their silage intake.
The downside is that in a year in which we should have profited from a shortage of haylage availability, we have fed our horse haylage to the cows. At least it has saved us buying more supplementary forage.
Apart from Storm Gareth, the other reason for turbulence in the atmosphere is that this latest chapter in the rather sorry saga of Brexit is finally heading towards some sort of conclusion.
No doubt there are many chapters to come, but I suspect some of the key players may soon be changing the roles in this real-life Game of Thrones.
History will not treat this crop of politicians kindly in this shambolic negotiation for our future. The deceit, game playing and lies are intolerable.
We still have no idea what is going to happen and there is certainly no mandate for a no-deal exit.
There is talk of trade liberalisation in a no-deal situation and a unilateral dropping of import tariffs which may well have profound impacts on agriculture.
The coalition of the disgruntled that got the Brexit vote outcome it wanted has fragmented into dealers and no dealers and even these are divided into the different deals that are available. At no time was the leave scenario defined, so we see MPs who want to leave voting against the very outcome they wanted to achieve.
Before Article 50 was triggered, we should have been clear about what it was we wanted.
It is hard to get something if you don’t let people know clearly what it is that you want – and even harder when what you want is not available.
I hope MPs reject no deal and I also hope we get a chance to find a consensus, with an extension to Article 50 that will allow people to choose one of a variety of defined options.
Failing that, let us revoke Article 50 before we sink even further as a society towards a dangerous polarisation.
With so much skulduggery going on before the referendum, it is surely best now to give people a ratification vote.
Language matters and cries of treachery are dangerous.
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