News / MP’s farm subsidy warning
NORTHERN Isles MP Alistair Carmichael says a victory for the Conservatives in the upcoming general election could result in farmers and crofters eventually losing their subsidies.
The Liberal Democrat said there was a “growing body of opinion” within Theresa May’s party that direct farm subsidies should stop after UK leaves the European Union.
Local NFU chairman Jim Nicolson said he hoped the likelihood of this happening would be “remote” and added there were a number of local farmers and crofters who couldn’t survive without subsidies.
Much of the financial support farmers and crofters receive is through the EU, and while the UK government has promised to match payments until 2020, it is unclear what will happen after that.
Carmichael raised his concerns after former secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs Owen Paterson told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday that productivity could actually increase if support for farmers is scaled back.
“We should follow New Zealand, and not subsidise food production,” he is quoted as saying.
“Because New Zealand was flat bust, and did this in an incredibly brutal manner…You need to do this in a transitional way. What it lead to in New Zealand was a spectacular increase in productivity.”
Carmichael, who was recently confirmed as the Liberal Democrats’ Northern Isles candidate for the 8 June election, said Paterson was “out of touch” with the real situation of some Scottish farmers and crofters.
It is thought that a Tory government could realign funding more towards environmental protection than food production.
“It is clear that there is a growing body of opinion in the Conservatives that wants to see an end to farm subsidies,” Carmichael said.
“Mr Paterson seems to think that farmers and crofters here just need to work harder and be more productive. That shows how out of touch he is with the reality of farming and crofting life in Orkney and Shetland.
“It should also be noted that this is a view being promoted by some of the most senior Conservatives engaged in farming politics. This is not just a few people on the fringe.
“Typically of Conservative thinking they see agricultural subsidies as the only influence on price. They seem to be blind to the role that supermarkets have in determining food prices. We all know that Conservative governments are always slow to tackle big corporate interests.”
Nicolson said it would “clearly be very damaging if subsidies were to go” but he believes there will be plenty of negotiation in the coming years.
He reiterated that the Northern Isles are very different to regions like the south of England or New Zealand.
“I wouldn’t want to panic over it, because I’m sure there will be a lot of discussions to take place,” Nicolson said.
“I’d be very surprised if we got to 2020 and we all go over a cliff. Most likely, in agriculture and in a whole lot of other areas, there won’t be sort of immediate results. I wouldn’t expect that to be the case. It would cause chaos.”
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