Welsh Liberal blogs

Responding to the news that the UK Government has concluded the signing of a trade deal with New Zealand, removing trade barriers between the two countries, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have said the deal will cause damage to rural communities and the Welsh agricultural industry. Commenting Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader and Senedd Member for Mid & West Wales Jane Dodds said: "The UK Government has negotiated a trade agreement that will actively damage Welsh farming communities and will bring next to no tangible benefits to our local economies.   "The Conservatives have proven that they are utterly unable to negotiate trade deals that boost the UK economy and unfortunately this agreement is no exception. The economic benefits are a drop in the ocean, and they will do nothing to mitigate the damage from the red tape and paperwork caused by Boris Johnson's shambolic EU trade deal. "Instead of delivering Global Britain, this Government is selling Welsh farmers...

  The Liberal Democrats have proposed new legislation to protect Welsh farmers from being undercut by food trade deals that do not meet the UK’s environment and animal welfare standards.   The plans, set out in a private member’s bill from Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Rural Affairs Tim Farron MP, would require the government’s Trade and Agriculture Commission to assess the impact of any new trade deal on UK farmers, and guarantee that MPs had the final say on trade deals initiated by the government.   This would include an assessment of the impact of new trade deals on farming communities in each region and nation of the UK.   Farron’s Bill comes after concern was raised by farmers unions and the Welsh Liberal Democrats that the Government’s new trade deal with Australia will not include a Welsh-specific impact assessment. Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS and Liberal Democrat Rural Affairs Spokesperson Tim Farron MP Commenting on his...

  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 Governme...

DEFRA have confirmed that farm payments in England will be reduced by 5-25% next year, depending on the band of direct payments. In December 2019 the UK Government confirmed funding for the Basic Payments Scheme in Wales would remain the same for 2020. This announcement suggests this funding will be reduced for Wales from 2021 onwards. Jane Dodds, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, commented: Boris Johnson and the Conservatives have been promising since 2016 that farmers would not be worse off because of Brexit. Today’s announcement shows just how hollow those promises were. I’m deeply concerned that UK Government funding for farming in Wales could also be cut next year. This would undermine all the Welsh Government’s work to provide financial certainty for our farmers, who already face more challenging conditions than their colleagues across the UK. During last year’s general election campaign Michael Gove personally promised Scottish Farmers the Conservati...

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have criticised the UK Conservative Government following its announcement showing Welsh farmers will receive less financial support than they currently get from the EU. At present farming subsidies from the EU, mostly distributed under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), amount to around £350million a year for Welsh farmers. This represents more than 80% of average farm incomes in Wales. The Government's new announcement outlined a £2.85billion funding package to replace EU funding, in which £231million is allocated to Wales. This represents a drop of up to £120million, roughly one-third of the money currently received from the EU, and only covers the next years funding. During the election, the Conservatives made numerous pledges to support Welsh Farmers and guarantee existing funding would be matched. Jane Dodds, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats said: "Brexit is already threatening the livelihoods of our ...

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have criticised Boris Johnson’s claim that his Brexit deal would mean zero tariffs or quotas for Welsh farmers exporting to the EU. NFU Cymru President John Davies said farmers had no certainty about access to EU markets until "the ink is dry" on a post-Brexit trade agreement. Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds said: Boris Johnson saying that Welsh farmers would face no tariffs or quotas under his Brexit plans shows he is either deliberately misleading people or does not know what his own Withdrawal Agreement entails. Under Johnson’s deal the UK would enter a year-long transition period, in which time negotiations will take place to determine our future trading relationship with the EU. It provides no guarantees about the end destination and fails to provide any safeguards in case a deal is not reached in time. Furthermore, due to the Conservatives ruling out any extension to this transition per...