As the UK-Australia trade deal comes into force, those close to the negotiations reflect on their dramatic — and farcical — climax.
How Boris blundered into £10bn Australia trade deal concession scrawled on paper in the loo
02/06/2023
‘Your boss has conceded the whole kingdom’, Australian negotiator said to have told Liz Truss.
Has British farming reached crisis point? Farmers say Brexit & free trade deals are risking our food security
28/08/2023
Worried farmers hit out at the government, telling NationalWorld it “has no interest in protecting the agricultural industry at all”.
Can someone tell the government Brexit has already happened? / The government has only now asked the Food Standards Agency to plan how it is going to protect public health and safety after Brexit – almost six months after the transition period for leaving the EU ended.
National Farmers’ Union president Minette Batters has taken a swipe at former prime minister Boris Johnson for adopting a “morally bankrupt” position during post-Brexit trade talks with the US.
NFU says British cattle and sheep farmers will lose out if Australian producers are given tariff-free access.
Union and consumer groups warn post-Brexit trade policy must hold food imports to same standards as UK.
Farmers sound alarm as more than 40,000 pigs are culled and meat thrown away due to Brexit and pandemic
22/02/2022
An estimated 200,000 pigs are backed up on farms because of a lack of skilled butchers to process them, while 40,000 animals have already been culled and their meat thrown away, farmers said this morning.
NFU president tells conference ministers have no understanding of how food production works. / Food producers have said the challenges they face are “the toughest in a generation” as members of the National Farmers’ Union met for their annual conference after the first full year of Brexit.
Farmers are waking up to the effect Brexit could have on their industry, says PETER HETHERINGTON.
British farmers fear they could go out of business following a post-Brexit trade deal with the US, the National Farmers Union has told the BBC.
Cabinet minister in ‘complete denial’ over Brexit harm to Britain’s economy which experts put at £31 billion
13/06/2022
Treasury silent on damage being caused by Brexit to Britain’s economy and Bank of England accused of being reluctant to talk about it.
Farmers have warned of "huge downsides" to Boris Johnson's new trade deal with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
Britain would run out of food by end of week if country relied solely on British food, study finds
17/08/2020
The union representing farming has revealed research which shows Britons would run out of food by the weekend if it was solely reliant on just British food.
The NFU warned Britain had been left for years without proper checks and balances on food imports from EU.
A government body has recommended that protections inherited from the EU to protect UK steel producers are ended.
Brexit deal winners ‘are Australian producers, Australian farmers, indeed Australia full stop’
17/06/2021
The comments, from the acting Australian PM, will send shivers down the spine of the British farming community.
NFU’s Minette Batters says ‘inept parliament’ forcing firms to spend millions to prepare.
Boris Johnson faces angry backlash from farmers after dismissing post-Brexit food fears as ‘mumbo jumbo’
25/02/2020
Prime minister told that allowing in ‘food which would be illegal to produce here would not only be morally bankrupt, it would be the work of the insane’
Talk at this week’s NFU conference will be alive with financial, labour and competition concerns.
Australia trade deal will deliver minimal benefit to UK economy and poses risks for farmers, say experts
15/06/2021
Farmers fear that deal will mean they risk being undercut by cheap imports made to lower animal welfare standards.
THE UK Government has been accused of treating Scotland’s farmers as “expendable” as the trade deal with Australia comes into effect.
Senior Tory MP warns Brexit ‘destroying’ British agriculture and condemns government failure to act
15/12/2021
A furious Neil Parish laid into Kevin Foster, the immigration minister, for ignoring a recommendation to make it easier to bring in EU butchers and other workers – leading to a huge shortage.