Skip to main content

Welsh Conservatives Utterly Failing to Use Their Influence to Protect Welsh Farmers

 



The Welsh Liberal Democrats have accused the Welsh Conservatives of failing to use their influence in Westminster to protect Welsh farmers in the wake the of Conservative Government’s post-Brexit trade policy.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats comments come after the UK Government announced that it will not publish a Wales-specific impact assessment of the Australian trade deal. Critics of the deal, and the subsequent deal with New Zealand claim the trade agreements will disproportionately hit Welsh farmers and rural communities in Wales.

Both the Australia and New Zealand trade deals have sparked concerns among farmers, unions such as NFU Cymru and FUW and those in the food processing industry. Concerns have focused on the risk that the zero-tariff and zero-quota access deals will allow lower standard and cheap meat to flood UK markets and push Welsh farmers out of business.

Commenting Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS said:

“The news that the Conservative Government in Westminster won’t publish a Wales-specific impact assessment of the Australian trade deal is yet the latest piece of evidence we have that shows Welsh Conservative MPs are utterly failing to use their positions to protect Welsh farmers.

“The age-old argument is that by having an MP that is part of the governing party, that MP should be better able to use their voice to protect the interests of their constituents. Yet with the Welsh Conservatives we can see the total opposite is happening, rather than defending the interests of Welsh farmers they are sitting quietly, following the party line constantly even when the decisions being made could prove extremely detrimental to their constituents.

“The Australian and New Zealand trade deals absolutely must receive an impact assessment focused on Wales given the importance of agriculture to the Welsh economy, specifically in Mid, North and West Wales. We have already been warned that these trade deals could not only put many Welsh family farms out of business, but they could also have a catastrophic impact on rural communities and a whole as well as Welsh language communities.

“The Welsh Liberal Democrats want to see a level playing field, where trade regimes take into account the difficulty faced by Welsh producers in competing with their Australian counterparts.

“In May this year the Welsh Secretary Simon Hart stated that he had “heard loud and clear” concerns over the deal, yet the lack of an impact assessment brings serious doubt on his and other Welsh Conservatives’ ability to influence the Government. If they have such little success in making concerns heard with the Australia and New Zealand deals, I am extremely concerned over the potential impact of any future deals with the likes of Brazil, the US or Argentina.

“The Welsh Conservatives urgently need to find their voice and stand up for our Welsh farmers, not only over these trade deals, but also over the significant other problems facing the sector in Wales, including large labour shortages and the absence of an adequate EU veterinary agreement.”

 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

UK Government must grant refugee status to all Uyghur asylum seekers

  We are calling on the government to offer the Uyghur population asylum in the UK, so that they can flee t   he unthinkable horrors of the situation in Xinjiang and find safety here.   n just the last few months, drone footage believed to be from Xinjiang in China, showed Uyghurs kneeling and blindfolded, waiting to be led onto trains. At the same time, the Chinese Government is also accused of undertaking a  programme  of forced  sterilisation  against Uyghur women.   The situation is abhorrent. Over the course of the last three years, Liberal Democrats have urged the UK government to do more to stop this gross violation of human rights. We have led cross-party letters, parliamentary debates, and parliamentary motions.   We remain clear that the UK has a duty to act.  That is why we have led on a cross-party letter this week to Priti Patel urging her to do the right thing and automatically give refugee status to the Uyghur people. ...

Significant Gaps Remain in Welsh Government Building Safety Announcement

  The Welsh Liberal Democrats have welcomed progress announced today in the Welsh Government’s building safety announcement but have warned significant gaps remain. Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS and Cardiff Liberal Democrat Group Leader Cllr Rhys Taylor addressing building saftey campaigners.   The announcement given by Environment Minister Julie James MS confirmed that 9 property developers have now signed up to the Welsh Government’s “Developers Pact” agreeing in theory their responsibility to remediate buildings they constructed with safety defects.   The announcement follows a lengthy campaign by leaseholders in the five years since the Grenfell Tower Disaster.   However, three major developers are still yet to reply.   The Welsh Liberal Democrats have stated that due to the Welsh Government’s failure to work with the UK Government on the Building Safety Act, they are left with little to no options to deal with the property de...

Mid Wales Growth Deal funding insulting

Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader and MP for Brecon and Radnorshire Jane Dodds has called the UK Government’s £55m funding for the Mid Wales Growth Deal insulting.Mid Wales Growth Deal funding insulting Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns used his speech to Conservative Party Conference in Manchester to announce £55m of funding for the Mid Wales Growth Deal over 15 years. The UK Government are contributing £500m to the Cardiff Capital Region City Deal and £241m to the Swansea Bay City Deal. Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MP commented: Alun Cairns’ announcement shows that, under this Conservative Government, Mid-Wales will never get the funding we truly need. The £55m promised is frankly insulting. Not only is it nowhere near enough, it is a fraction of the funding being provided for the Cardiff and Swansea City Deals. Our rural communities have been let down and forgotten about for far too long. What’s more, they will be some of the harde...