Boris might have clinched a Brexit deal, but UK ag could still be sold down the river

I read Joe Stanley’s magnum opus last week and thought… How on earth do I follow that?

He was eloquent, emotive and bang on the money with all he said. But if last week was the Royal Box of Brexit opinions, this week will have a feel of the cheap seats.

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It’s finally here – no, not Christmas – the deal which has been alluded to since BoJo took up residence in Number 10.

Be under no illusion, Boris has not negotiated a brand new deal. It’s Mrs May’s Withdrawal Agreement, with lipstick on.

And remember, a pig wearing lipstick is still a pig.

But despite this last minute movement, we still have a number of unanswered questions about the future, such as: Will UK farming be sold down the river, undercut by a multitude of imported goods, produced to standards well below those we have to adhere to in the UK?

My guess is the answer to that question would be ‘absolutely’.

Open up

We’ll have to open up our arms to chlorinated chicken, hormone-injected beef and let even more rapeseed treated with neonics in.

I have tried to keep tabs on Brexity news and events for the last few weeks, but to be honest, I have been worn down by the ineptitude of our Government, Parliament and everything in between.

To highlight how far down we are viewed by some in the political sphere, let me share a brief tale.

I was down in London last week at a Department for International Trade conference.

One of the speakers at the event, talking about reducing carbon emissions in agriculture, said they had held a meeting with a group of MPs.

Seriously

During that meeting, one MP said, quite seriously, ‘wouldn’t it be easier to just stop farming in the UK and import what we need?’

So that’s nice. Such is the understanding of our industry, it seems we can just be brushed away as you would an annoying child.

Hurrah! What a time to be alive!

Phil can be found tweeting at @ag_recruiter