Edinburgh MP warns over effect of war and Brexit on food security

Edinburgh North and Leith SNP MP Deidre Brock has called on the UK Government to abandon its “laissez-faire” Brexit trade deal policy in face of growing concerns about the impact the Russia-Ukraine war will have on food imports.

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Amid warnings the conflict will hit food supplies and prices, Ms Brock underlined the effect of Brexit-related supply chain issues and said the UK’s withdrawal from the EU left British farmers without access to a proposed 1.5 billion euro emergency fund to counter food insecurity.

And she urged the UK Government to provide additional funding to the Scottish Government and other devolved nations to ensure they can act to support their own food security needs and interests.

Deidre Brock is MP for Edinburgh North and Leith and also SNP spokesperson for environment, food and rural affairs

She said: “Even before the war in Ukraine, farmers and food producers in the UK were facing a perfect storm, with prices quickly escalating for fertiliser, fuel, energy and feed. Already this was finding its way into food costs with the highest food inflation in a decade recorded in February, adding to the Tory cost-of-living crisis.

“We thankfully have the means in this country to grow and rear our own quality food, so it’s more important than ever that we see that ability nurtured and empowered, starting with a stripping back of the UK government’s laissez-faire approach to foreign trade deals that could see knock-off and low-quality products line our shelves to the detriment of our agriculture sector.

“We warned that farming would feel the worst effects of the Tories’ rock hard Brexit, which stopped EU nationals coming to work here and created new red tape and barriers to trade."

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