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Farmers View 1st November
2009
A little over two years ago,
farmers across Scotland rightly breathed a collective sigh
of relief when 8 years of burocracy under a Liberal Democrat
Rural Affairs Minister came to a close. The end of Ross
Finnie brought a fresh start with the appointment of Richard
Lochhead as the Minister responsible for Scotland’s farming
industry, offering the opportunity of fresh thinking and a
more dynamic approach to the regulation of the industry and
the support mechanism on which it depends.
From the outset, farmers
took to the new Minister, largely because of his willingness
to listen and the application of simple common sense where
his predecessor always revelled in complexity. Even in the
narrow political world of Scottish agriculture, where
influencing the agriculture Minister is a practice pursued
to the exclusion of almost all other politicians , Richard’s
early performance seemed to justify the practice.
He has applied himself to
the challenges of his brief, dealing with the issues which
have arisen with a directness which I can only applaud.
After eight years when ordinary members of the Scottish
Parliament like me were wholly excluded from decision making
and refused any contact with civil servants, we now enjoy a
healthy and much more open relationship, free from the
distortion of party politics.
You can imagine my dismay
however when last month our respected Cabinet Secretary for
Environment and Rural Development decided to join some of
his more rumbustious colleagues by telling the world that
our farmers would be a lot better off if Scotland was
independent. Perhaps it was an instruction from above which
brought this on but I must take issue, not only because I
disagree , but because with all our economic problems, this
is not the time for us to be taking our eye off the ball.
In a policy paper published
last month, the Scottish government claimed that its
position was being held back in EU negotiations on
issues such as GM crops and CAP reform. The paper highlights
the UK’s support for GM crops and its failure to set up a
supermarket ombudsman as key areas where an independent
Scotland would implement different policies. It continued,
saying, “Independence would enable Scotland to have its own
voice in Europe and argue robustly in favour of its own
farming, fishing and environmental interests without its
views being diluted.”
Speaking at his party Conference in
Inverness, the Minister claimed that, “If implemented, the
UK vision would be a disaster for Scottish agriculture.
Labour’s vision ignores Scotland’s distinct characteristics
- our land, climate and population. We can’t let London
Labour make their vision a reality.”
As he is so keen on
reminding us, Scotland’s food and farming industries have a
reputation for being of the highest quality. Our farmers
produce far more food than could ever be consumed here in
Scotland so we are natural exporters of food products with a
reputation which is second to none. What we need is stronger
trade with our partners in the UK and the EU, not a falling
out.
Yet at the same time, he
appears to be telling us that in an independent Scotland, if
the European Union does not share his opinions on GM crops
for example, then he will protect us by banning the import
of these products. He will impose his own price regulator
which will protect us from the supermarkets. He will
maintain support measures for our farmers and he will ban
the foreigners from fishing in Scottish waters.
It appears that Mr
Lochhead’s vision of independence relies on free access to
the British and European markets, while reserving the right
to take whatever action he feels necessary to protect us at
home. Well it just won’t wash.
A future Conservative
government will negotiate a much better deal for our
Scottish rural industries and communities, because it will
have the objective to do exactly the same for those in
England Wales and Northern Ireland. What we need is a change
of government, not a change of passport. The last thing we
need at this time of economic crisis, is to turn our biggest
market, the UK market, into an export market. Worse still,
we cannot then afford to introduce trade barriers as well.
Mr Lochhead, if it is really your objective
to negotiate a better deal for Scotland in Europe, it is
incumbent upon you to demonstrate that you can negotiate
within the United Kingdom. Your little exercise in megaphone
diplomacy at your conference in Inverness may have been for
the benefit of your party faithful, but it was heard well
beyond the hall.
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