Meeting of the Parliament 16 May 2019
Food and drink are at the heart of our culture and traditions in Scotland. Generations of farmers and thousands of European Union workers have contributed to our world-class food and drink sector, particularly in my North East Scotland region; they have built it into the genuine success story that it is.
As we have heard, the food and drink sector is vital to our rural economy; it brings much-needed employment and business opportunities to families and communities all over rural Scotland.
However, our producers are on the front line of the greatest threat to our economy for many years. I do not say that lightly. We have just heard from the cabinet secretary that Brexit could cost our farming, fishing and crofting sector some £2 billion per year. I am astonished that the Conservatives do not think that that is a major threat. There is no doubt that a no-deal Brexit would be catastrophic for our rural economy. I questioned Michael Gove on that yesterday, and he is inexplicably relaxed about a no-deal Brexit. The man who is in charge of agriculture south of the border refused to confirm that he would do everything in his power in the UK Cabinet to avoid at all costs a no-deal Brexit. It is astonishing that the Conservatives have failed to rule out a no-deal Brexit.
We will support—absolutely—the Scottish Government’s motion. As far as the amendments are concerned, the Liberal Democrats prefer the Government’s motion as it stands; it properly reflects our position. We are the only party in this chamber that wants to stay in both our unions. Therefore, we will not support any of the amendments, because they all dilute the message that we want our Parliament to send out.
By far the largest market for our food and drink remains the rest of the UK, for which 61 per cent of Scottish exports are destined. Cheap, low-quality imports from countries outside the EU would undermine all the good work of our producers and endanger our progress towards green and sustainable land use. For that reason, our food and drink industry’s reputation for quality must be protected.
Scotland’s food exports are sold across the European Union, and the removal of the common EU framework could have a serious impact on our trade. On top of that, as the cabinet secretary mentioned, non-tariff barriers with the EU could cause administrative delays that would be particularly detrimental to our trade in fresh produce. In addition, we are now seeing how important non-UK nationals are for agriculture and our wider food and drink industry. It annoys me intensely that the UK Government is just ignoring that. Although the UK Government has allowed 2,500 visas for migrant workers, the NFUS has reported that, this year, a staggering 10,000 vacancies will be left open across the UK as a whole. What will happen to our fruit growers if those jobs cannot be filled? The answer is simple: thousands of tons of food will rot in the fields because of the lack of workers. That is a deliberate policy of the Conservative UK Government.
Currently, a third of the labour force for Scotland’s food and drink sector comes from EU countries. I fail to see how those numbers can be replaced without free movement across the continent. I know that many of my Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee colleagues believe that it is important to have free movement across the continent, but they seem to be silent in this debate.
A no-deal Brexit would write off some of our best producers and damage many rural communities. Until now, the Scottish food and drink industry, assisted by the Government, has been going from strength to strength, and we have a duty to support it. There is, of course, more that the Scottish Government could do to mitigate the damage that Brexit will inflict on our rural economy. I have said many times in the chamber that I want a bespoke system of support to be developed for Scotland, one that will offer continued financial support for the foreseeable future, and I know that the cabinet secretary is making progress on that. However, as long as Brexit—in particular, the threat of a no-deal Brexit—remains on the table, the UK Government and the Conservative members of the Scottish Parliament who support it will have a great deal to answer for and a great deal of responsibility for the damage that will be thrust on our rural economy.
I will end on a positive note. The Liberal Democrats believe that the continued success of our food and drink industry—it is hugely successful—can, as the motion before us says,
“best be achieved through continued membership of the EU.”