Monthly Archives: January 2022

Lord David Frost stunned Westminster in December when he quit as chief Brexit negotiator, but his predecessor David Davis has revealed the real reason behind the move. Speaking to LBC's Camilla Tominey, Mr Davis complained that Britons had not seen enough benefits from Brexit yet. He urged Boris Johnson to "get more aggressive" and take advantage of the deregulation that Brexit offers.

Camilla Tominey asked: "What do you think about the fact we don't seem to have seen any Brexit dividend?

"We were meant to be emerging from the bloc as this global, competitive free-trade leader.

"But now our corporate tax is as high as France."

Mr Davis responded: "That is what triggered David Frost's resignation."

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He continued: "Like me, he saw that there were opportunities to be had out of Brexit but you had to grasp them!

"There weren't just going to land in your lap."

Ms Tominey pressed: "Was he not been aggressive enough in grasping them?"

Mr Davis said: "I don't think the Government has generally.

This comes as Lord Frost used his first major interview since leaving the cabinet to warn Mr Johnson to commit to low taxes and the free market or risk losing the next election

The Tory peer told the Mail on Sunday: We need to get the country going economically again and that means free markets, free debate and low taxes.

People need to look at this country and think: yes, something is changing here. Youve got to set the direction of travel.

"If were going to get out of this little trough and win the election in a couple of years time, then weve got to develop that.

Senior members of the cabinet like Jacob Rees-Mogg, the leader of the Commons, have also pressed Mr Johnson to scrap his plans for a rise in national insurance contributions this April.

The rest is here:

Tories urge Boris to 'more aggressively' use Brexit freedoms to turn UK into world-beater - Daily Express

Brexit Britain is set for a massive win as Sweden has based its international Office of Science and Innovation in the UK.

Sweden, which is in the EU, established its seventh international Office of Science and Innovation at its embassy in London last weekend.

According to their press statement, the Swedish Science Office will develop and strengthen collaboration between the UK and Sweden on issues linked to the Governments life sciences strategy, its export and investment strategy, the Research and Innovation Bill, and the Governments strategic partnership programmes.

Karl-Petter Thorwaldsson, Minister for Business, Industry and Innovation, said: The London Office is an important and strategic initiative for a country like Sweden where export and innovation issues are of vital importance.

Establishing the Office is an effective way to meet the objectives of Swedens life sciences strategy and is completely in line with efforts to help the Governments partnership programmes achieve an international impact.

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Truss sends Coveney reeling in talks demands EU back down on hated deal - Daily Express

Skipper James Chunky Chown makes the tricky task of boarding his trawler, the Ajax, at Newlyn Harbour in Cornwall, look easy.

The fisherman moves from the quay, descends 10 metres down an iron ladder over a widening gap of turquoise sea, and onto the boat in a single fluid motion.

When it comes to fishing, he tells i, everything is difficult now, due to the new post-Brexit rules the paperwork, the legislation, the endless bureaucracy. It takes time and it costs money.

It wasnt supposed to be this way. Polls suggested that 92 per cent of the UK fishing industry voted to leave the EU, amid promises that they would benefit from taking back control of British waters.

The new post Brexit fishing rules that came into force at the start of last year were described in July by the National Federation of Fishermens Organisations as a sell out. Today, the mood is sangfroid.

A year on from the new rules at Newlyn Englands busiest fishing port Chown says he is somewhat resigned to them. Still, he is clear Brexit has brought new pressures.

The first time we tried to land pollock in Roscoff, Brittany, we were told to go over to Brest [a port further South], apparently for no reason whatsoever, he says. The French seem to enjoy these new regulations.

We lost about 12,000 worth of fish that day, Chown adds. These days we dont land in France at all.

Fishing boats still operate traditionally. Crews go out to sea, catch fish, and land it where the market price is best. Different fish are worth more or less on any given day, at any given port.

For Chown, a fisherman who likes to catch a variety of fish and seasonally, being restricted to one market can be inefficient and constraining.

We were the first boat to land in France after Brexit, he says. Complications were immediately there. The French can be very militant. If they dont get their way, theyve been known to unload fish from lorries and pour diesel on them set them on fire.

Changing between pollock and hake is more sustainable but we cant do that now. We get a very good price for hake here, so were doing okay financially, but I think things need to change long-term. I want to catch pollock too. British people buying more fish would be good being less reliant on European trade.

Wed also like to see different ports open up. Why do we have to go through France? Id like to land straight into Santander (Spain). That would make life far easier.

Still today, 60-70 per cent of fish caught and landed in Britain heads to France, Spain, Italy, and beyond. There remains an urgency to trade with Europe, even if theres new-found ambivalence.

Fishing has never been plain sailing. Maybe the Brexit vote among those in the industry should be no surprise. For years, communities by the sea have felt disconnected and forgotten. But Government pledges have failed to transpire.

Paul Trebilcock, manager at the 300-year-old Cornish fishing company, Ocean Fish, says: Senior people from the Government came down here and made us promises. We had Michael Gove standing here on the harbour telling us we would have greater control of our seas, and a greater share of fish. Nothing has changed. Were pretty much in the same position as we were before. Maybe were a little worse off.

He says the Scottish industry has benefited from Brexit. The quota share for multi-million-pound trawlers catching fish like mackerel in the North Sea and north Atlantic has increased. But West Country boats were sold a dream.

Ahead of the EU Referendum, ministers championing the patriotic ideal of the UK becoming an independent coastal state like big fishing nations like Norway and Iceland one of the main selling points was reclaiming our seas. Today only waters up to six miles from land are reserved for UK fishing boats. Fishermen had been told this would be increased to 12 miles post-Brexit.

We have been massively short-changed and it does seem like boats down here have been hung out to dry, says Trebilcock. The increase in quota share for various species has been marginal. Theres also the issue of the 6-12 mile limit, which we were told would be ours, but that hasnt happened.

He says West Country fishermen want the Government to be braver. Trebilcock backs a tougher stance from the UK on pushing for a bigger share, even if it means the French retaliating and making trade even more difficult.

We want the Government to stand up for us, he says. Yes, the EU could respond (by raising taxes, for example) and we need avenues to trade. But they need us, too. British waters are full of beautiful fish. We should be the ones to catch them and to sell them.

Anthony Hendy, 30 years a fisherman, only goes out a day at a time from Newlyn making his situation different to larger boats like the Ajax, which can leave port for a week.

The first half of the year was really hard, he tells i. In the last six months, Ive made more money, because fish has been getting a good price at market I suppose demand shot up. But I do see the landscape changing here. The fleet has diminished, and its much harder to get a boat and go out to fish.

The six mile limit is a big problem for us because a lot of our fleet here is smaller boats which dont go out in terrible weather not usually anyway.

The Belgians and French go out in any conditions because they have huge trawlers subsidised by the Government and it makes no difference to them. Its hard being sat here seeing them coming up within six miles from the coast getting all the fish. That should be ours. Its not sustainable trawling the seas every day anyway.

When trade negotiations reopen in 2026, everyone is hoping for a fairer deal.

There was a lot of anger down here when promises werent kept, says Chris Ranford, the new CEO of the Cornish Fish Producers Organisation. Its no secret that fishermen supported Brexit for the most part because they were told their livelihoods would improve. Nothing has changed and wont for five years. But theres hope.

Theres a feeling of getting on with it now There are positives. We can find solutions and work towards 2026. I think everyone will push for the 12 mile limit to be imposed and quota share of certain species will be discussed. Hopefully the bigger boats get an easier ride too and can land in Europe and get a fair price for their bigger hauls.

The mood might have been morose 12 months ago. It isnt now. Discontent is here, but the fishermen of Newlyn carry on, dropping their nets in the hope of catching Cornish fish.

Read this article:

A year since Brexit, fishermen in Cornwall say they were sold a dream - iNews

Britains manufacturers have suffered a drop in export demand amid pressure from Covid and Brexit, according to fresh data that shows supply chain disruption and staff shortages held back the economy in December.

The latest snapshot from IHS Markit and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (Cips) showed growth in UK factory output was limited last month by Covid restrictions and Brexit weighing on orders and pushing up costs.

According to the survey of 650 manufacturers, which is tracked by the government and the Bank of England for early warning signs from the economy, inflows of new work from overseas dropped for the fourth month in a row.

While firms reported continued growth at the end of last year and a slight easing of supply chain delays, manufacturers said logistics issues, Brexit difficulties and the possibility of further pandemic restrictions at home and overseas had damaged export demand at the end of the year.

New trade restrictions since leaving the EU and the impact of the pandemic mean that Britains exporters are on track to be the slowest among big European economies to recover from Covid-19, according to research by Euler Hermes.

The Paris-based trade credit insurer forecasts UK exports will not recover to pre-pandemic levels until 2023, leaving the UK lagging European counterparts, with data expected to show that Germany and Italy have already recovered in 2021 and other nations will do in 2022.

The forecast comes despite a rise in demand for manufactured goods across advanced economies as consumers turn to purchasing physical products while pandemic restrictions limit appetite for services.

Ana Boata, the head of economic research at Euler Hermes, said: Our forecasts show that Brexiting in times of Covid-19 has hindered exporters capacity to benefit from the strong upswing in demand that lockdown has presented.

She said fresh post-Brexit border controls on UK imports at the start of 2022 would bring further disruption, while the Omicron coronavirus variant would add to severe uncertainty facing firms.

British exporters have been tasked with sailing increasingly perilous trade waters in recent years another 12 months of headwinds could be enough to sink many, she added.

According to the latest snapshot from IHS Markit/Cips, UK-based firms suffered from rising costs for freight, shipping and air transportation amid supply chain disruption.

However, firms also recorded further growth of production, new orders and employment at the end of 2021. Hiring increased for the 12th successive month in a row in December, as firms battled to meet improved demand, rising backlogs of work and efforts to address staff shortages.

The IHS Markit/Cips manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) rose to 57.9 in December, little changed from a three-month high of 58.1 in November. A mark above 50 signifies growth as opposed to contraction.

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Inflationary pressures remained high, and companies reported a sharp increase in costs for chemicals, electronics, energy, food products, metals, timber and wood.

Although firms were optimistic that disruption linked to Covid and Brexit should gradually fade over the course of 2022, experts warned headwinds for UK factory output and exports remained.

Dave Atkinson, a regional director at Lloyds Bank, said: There are tentative signs as the pace of output growth builds that some supply chain pressures, which have dragged on the sector for months, are starting to ease. But manufacturers expect supply headaches to persist throughout 2022, with chip shortages in particular likely to be prevalent even into next year.

Excerpt from:

Brexit and Covid hit demand for exports from UK factories - The Guardian

Lord Frost gives update on UKs participation in Horizon Europe

It's a drop in the ocean compared to the bloc's 80bn arsenal of funds, but experts have told Express.co.uk that they are "relieved" to see the UK get the ball rolling on overseas collaborations. It comes after Britain was excluded from the EUs key research and innovation project, Horizon Europe, and was told it cannot re-join until Brexit disputes are resolved. This tough stance was taken even though the UKs participation was a feature of the EUUK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson had also promised that Britain would be included in the project.

Britain was supposed to contribute 15billion over seven years so scientists could access that funding and collaborate with partners in the bloc.

With the delays hurting British experts minute by minute, Science Minister George Freeman reassured that he was drafting up a bold Plan B as a backup.

There have been fears that if the new Brexit Minister, Liz Truss, fails to strike a deal with the EU over the Northern Ireland protocol and fishing licenses, then Horizon Europe could be permanently off the cards.

But now, Mr Freeman appears to have started rolling out the red carpet for UK scientists.

12 projects have been funded by a 17million investment from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

Each brings together some of the worlds leading research groups, both in Britain and internationally.

They will use the funding for cutting-edge research and are looking to make important moves in technological and engineering spaces.

Prof Philip Withers from the University of Manchester is leading the Manufacturing by design project, which has partnered up with the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in France.

The project received 1.6million from the EPSRC.

He told Express.co.uk: The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) has just undergone a 150million upgrade to make it probably the most advanced X-ray facility in the world.

By having a team located in Grenoble and partnering directly with the ESRF, we will be able to undertake some of the most advanced experiments to understand manufacturing processed and the behaviour of manufactured components ever undertaken.

READ MORE:Russian rocket part makes uncontrolled re-entry into Earth

Prof Withers and his team were relieved to receive the much-needed funding.

He said: It was a relief because it is increasingly difficult to take people and equipment to the ESRF to do experiments.

This will mean we have a permanent on-site presence there and we can do some really challenging first of a kind experiments in support of the UK industry.

Prof Withers said of the partnership with France: It is a fantastic example of working together across Europe."

He added: Our project will help UK manufacturers by providing unique insights into their products and their processes.

The Internet of Energy (IoE) is being led by Prof Rajiv Ranjan from Newcastle University and Prof Omer Rana from Cardiff University.

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Their project was handed 1.5million in EPSRC funding and involves a partnership with Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Australia.

Prof Ranjan told Express.co.uk: This funding will allow us to bring the best brains and the best companies and the best in the industry together to solve this very critical problem the UK society and UK economy is facing.

The IoE project will use sophisticated technology to develop approaches needed to make electric vehicles and their related infrastructure cyber secure, as well as process data on energy consumption and generation.

The professors said they were very excited to receive the funding, and stressed the importance of international collaborations.

Prof Ranja told Express.co.uk: It is a good approach to look for partners outside of the EU, not to just restrict ourselves to European partners.

I believe after working with Australia and other places that they [the EU] are missing a research culture or research excellence, they dont really inform top scientific publication or top scientific fact the way other countries like the US, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Prof Rana believes "we have to look beyond Europe".

He explained: But it should be Europe plus international, we need to work with the best teams around the world.

The 12 projects include three quantum science and technology projects that build on the UKs 1billion public and private investment in this field as part of the National Quantum Technologies Programme.

This includes a 650million investment through UKRI.

But experts have warned that this won't be enough yet to replace Horizon Europe.

One of those projects is being led by Professor Gerald Buller, Heriot-Watt University.

His Ultrafast Single-photon detection for Quantum Applications (USQA) project was handed 1.3million in funding from the EPSRC.

The project will link three centres of excellence in quantum photonics, two of which are in the US.

Prof Butler told Express.co.uk: Its always a relief to get research funding. I see this funding as separate from Horizon Europe, given that this is a fully UK/US collaboration.

This is one of the very few funding mechanisms available that would allow substantial long-term support of US UK collaborations.

He said that the new funding will help strengthen the UKs ties with the US as a collaborator in the field of research and innovation.

Prof Butler added: The funding means a much stronger, long-term collaboration with our US partners at the Jet Propulsion Lab and Caltech.

Although we already have a good relationship with our partners, a five-year project allows for longer-term planning of much more ambitious goals.

Prof Butler said that this collaboration will let Britain access state-of-the-art single-photon detectors that are not available elsewhere.

He said that this will inevitably lead to major advances in some quantum technology applications such as quantum communications and quantum-enhanced imaging.

When asked why quantum photonics is an important area for the UK to explore, Prof Butler responded: Quantum photonics includes a range of application areas that will ultimately affect everyday lives.

For example, the use of the detectors developed in this project can help implement a global distribution network of encryption keys that are verifiably secure by the laws of quantum physics.

There is a range of quantum sensing applications also which can help improved medical diagnosis and treatment.

"These are just some of the possible applications areas that span sectors such as telecommunications, aerospace, defence and medicine.

"UK industry already has good engagement with the national academic community to exploit some of these quantum technology advances as they progress..

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It's a relief' UK scientists handed 17m lifeline as EU threatens to BAN them over Brexit - Daily Express

Since the UK departed from the EU in January 2021 with Brexit, Britain is no longer part of the EU's Erasmus scheme. But the Government announced the Turing scheme which will provide funding for an estimated 40,000 students across universities, colleges and schools.

It allows students to participate in placements around the world.

The scheme has been extended by the Government for a further three years with a budget of 110m for 2022/23.

It provides placements for British students across 159 destinations, including Canada, Japan, Australia and the United States.

Nexit campaigners in the Netherlands hailed the scheme, accusing Remainers of scaremongering when they warned the UK would lose out outside the Erasmus programme.

They said: "Erasmus is the EU program that offers students the opportunity to study in other EU countries.

"It was feared that the British would no longer be able to do this after Brexit.

"The UK now has its own student programme (Turing) that is cheaper and more global.

"It was scaremongering again."

Wider-reaching than the placements on the Erasmus scheme, it has been hailed to be cheaper than the EU's scheme.

READ MORE:Sturgeon compared to Hirohito in attack on Scottish lockdown

The Scottish government claimed this is because of Britain pulling out of the Erasmus Plus exchange programme.

In May last year, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: "It is baffling, and, to be frank, an act of cultural vandalism, that the UK Government has chosen not to participate in the Erasmus+ programme, something it could have continued to do despite Brexit."

She added: "The Brexit vote and the decision by the UK Government to pursue a hard Brexit has prompted renewed debate in Scotland about our constitutional future.

"The Scottish Governments position is that the people of Scotland have the right to decide whether they wish to become an independent country."

Nexit Denktank campaigners added: "The Scots, generally more pro-EU than the rest of the UK, wanted to continue participating in Erasmus.

"The EU refused: 'There will be no special treatment for Scotland as the UK is now a country outside the EU'."

See the article here:

'Cheaper and more global' Brexit Britain hailed as new scheme trounces EU's Erasmus - Express

This March marks 65 years since the signing of the Treaty of Rome, a visionary document that brought six European nations still recovering from the ravages of war into a project to forge peace and prosperity across the continent.

That is a grand anniversary: most people reaching 65 are looking at retirement. But the age of the European Unions founding document has not withered the threats to the bloc, and 2022 will see an array of challenges that could shatter the unity of the clubs 27 countries.

These could include a shock, far-right election win in France; a new, more deadly coronavirus variant; a joint Polish and Hungarian blockade of EU decision-making; and a Russian military assault on Ukraine. While each are unlikely, none are improbable, and even one of them could paralyse the EU, sending it into a tailspin.

The EUs democratic challenges will be critical: as a union, the bloc relies on the integrity of each of its member states and elections always raise the prospect however rare that an anti-democratic candidate wins.

2022 will be another tumultuous year for democracy, says Michael Meyer-Resende, the executive director of the Berlin-based NGO Democracy Reporting International. Many important elections in 2022 will be more like referenda on democracy rather than offering voters choices of different democratic currents.

The most important is in France where President Emmanuel Macron is seeking re-election in the presidential vote in April, before the country decides on a new parliament come June. Frances fragmented political landscape means that a far-right candidate has a good chance to reach the run-off second round in the presidential vote, as Marine Le Pen did in 2017.

Ms Le Pen, who leads the National Rally party had long looked set to repeat her 2017 feat, at least until another extreme-right figure emerged, TV pundit-turned-politician Eric Zemmour. Both are nationalists flirting with racism, with little regard for traditional democratic values, let alone supranational organisations like the EU: they talk about removing France from the blocs strictures.

If Le Pen or God help us, Zemmour wins, then the EU is plunged into crisis. That is the nightmare scenario, says John Springford, the deputy director of the Centre for European Reform (CER) in London.

But another European election looms, with critical consequences for democracy: Hungary. Viktor Orbn has been dragging the country towards hard-right authoritarianism since returning for a second stint as prime minister in 2010.

If Orbn wins again, then he will be emboldened to continuing suppressing dissent, Mr Springford says. If he loses, champagne corks will pop in Brussels, as it shows pro-European forces can win although it will not mean that populism is gone.

Another victory by Mr Orbn would also cheer the EUs other would-be dictators, mainly eastern European. Along with Hungary, Poland has faced regular reprimands from Brussels for eroding democratic institutions, to little effect. The EU finally has a tool to use against them, a rule of law mechanism to hold back billions of euros of funding from countries that fail to uphold the EUs values. But this is an extreme option, and officials fear that if it is activated, it could trigger a crisis within the EU: Budapest and Warsaw could retaliate by blocking decision-making inside the bloc.

Further east, the EU faces threats from an increasingly belligerent Russia, which has amassed troops along its border with Ukraine, and this week sent military support to neighbouring Kazakhstans embattled leaders to crush street unrest. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who reveres the old Soviet concept of a near abroad, has also menaced bordering EU countries Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania but even an incursion into Ukraine would split the bloc, and undermine its aspirations as a global political player.

Meanwhile, the Covid-19 pandemic is still upending life two years after first emerging, and the shadow of the Omicron variant will continue to throw the EUs plans into uncertainty. The EU needs to find a balance between keeping people safe and protecting the economy a tension that erupted this week when Mr Macron said he wanted to piss off Frances unvaccinated people. With inflation slowly creeping up, this will spill into the EUs plans to reform budget rules and channel investment into the green economy.

All these events and trends make for a potentially perilous 2022 for the EU. But the bloc has faced other major crises in the past decade, from Brexit to euro strains and refugee influxes, and weathered them. Officials are cautiously optimistic that they can dodge the worst-case scenarios and rebuild. Indeed, if everything goes right, the EU can emerge stronger than ever.

Re-election for Mr Macron (or even his centre-right opponent, Valrie Pcresse) would set the scene for a renewed Franco-German motor with new German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. In Hungary, Mr Orbns opponents have united behind a single candidate and have a good chance to oust him: his defeat would transform Budapest as well as the EU. Mr Putin is sensing pushback from its former Soviet allies while his threats have galvanised the EU to fortify defence ties. Authorities are getting better at dealing with new Covid-19 waves and variants.

Finally, Brexit, which was a body blow in 2016, is no longer an existential issue for the EU: the UK has left the bloc, and no-one seems minded to follow them out the door. The EU has moved on from Brexit, says Paul Adamson, the chairman of the EU-UK Forum and visiting professor at Kings College London. People see whats happened to Britain since it left. They see how undesirable and messy leaving the EU is.

The rest is here:

EU hopes to emerge stronger than ever after undesirable Brexit as it battles Russia, Covid and the far-r - iNews

Labour has proposed introducing a windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas producers to fund the reduction of the average household energy bill to 200.The 6.6billion plan would include removing VAT on domestic energy bills for one year, the Guardian reports.

But Brexit campaigners have insisted this could not be done were the UK still a member of the EU.

Martin Daubney, the Deputy Leader of Reclaim and former MEP, highlighted that Brexiteers had long touted removing VAT on energy costs as a Brexit-bonus.

In a post on Twitter, he wrote: Labour want to remove VAT on domestic fuel, something Brexiteers argued for years would be a clear benefit of Leaving the EU.

Now both Sir Keir and Rachel Reeves who tried to cancel Brexit are making zero percent VAT a policy, which Britain could never have done as an EU member.

Ms Reeves, the Shadow Chancellor, also an opponent of Brexit, said Labour would reform our broken energy system.

Mr Daubney joked that this has only become a policy of the Labour Party thanks to Brexit, which it opposed.

He wrote: The next time a Remoaner says to you name one clear benefit of leaving the EU!, you can reply: The ability to cut VAT on domestic fuel to 0 percent which is now a Labour policy.

After voting against Brexit in 2016, Sir Keir, then the Shadow Brexit Secretary, contradicted his leader, Jeremy Corbyn, by insisting that Brexit can be stopped.

READ MORE: Macron mocked as French furiously turn on him

It will do the work of the customs union, so it is a customs union.

He added: But will it do the work of the current customs union? Yes, thats the intention.

Later, he supported calls for a second referendum on Britains membership of the EU.

It was not until May 2020, after he had attained position of Labour leader, that Sir Keir said the Brexit debate was over.

At this time, he said Labour would not attempt to rejoin the EU if he became Prime Minister.

Mr Daubney was not alone in suggesting it was ironic Labour backed a policy made possible only because of Brexit.

Franco Volpe wrote on Twitter: Funny isnt it how anti-Brexit folk are calling for something ONLY possible because of Brexit.

Others suggested the claim had been overdone, noting that Spain recently cut its VAT tax rate on electricity bills form 21 percent to 10 percent despite being a member of the EU.

Continue reading here:

How ironic! Brexit-blocking Starmer pushes for 0% VAT - only achievable thanks to EU exit - Daily Express

PLANNING the garden for the year ahead is always fun. Seed suppliers and garden centres are brimming with our old favourites and exciting new possibilities, so well have lots of choices to make.

But shop early if youre set on a particular variety. Brexit is predictably causing delays and shortages. Phytosanitary regulations for the rest of the world are now imposed on seeds and plants from the EU. Products that were harmonised with UK standards till December 2020 may no longer be acceptable.

So petunias from the Netherlands now undergo 59 tests and this nonsense has added 8-13% to costs this year. The Horticultural Trades Association [HTA] estimates additional financial burdens amount to 30m 50m this year.

As a result of Brexit, seed and plants will be more expensive. But recent mail order mergers and takeovers will let them drive harder bargains with their poor suppliers and keep prices down. The global conglomerate, BVG, now owns Thompson & Morgan, Dobies, Suttons and the Organic Catalogue among others and it sources our seed from across the world: China, South America, Africa and India. Even smaller companies like Mr Fothergills and Kings do this rather than in Suffolk and Essex as previously.

I asked the HTA if they could recommend any firm that specialised or offered a significant amount of UK-grown seed, but they were unable to do so. The cost of land for production, a more favourable climate and longer growing season made overseas production more attractive. Im sure cheap labour is another compelling reason.

This is worrying. Over time, stock plants adapt to their new environment so seeds from a plant acclimatised to India may not enjoy life in Inverness.

This is all a bit negative but I do believe we should know what were buying and decide what to do about it.

If were very concerned, we could try to find small firms like Higgledy Garden [www.higgledygarden.com] who grow some of their own seed, import from Europe and aim to produce 75% of their own seed by 2023, or join organisations like Garden Organics Heritage Seed Library. But there is a membership fee and you get a small amount of a limited range of varieties to let you then save your own seed.

Seed varieties are either open-pollinated or F1 hybrids. F1s provide a consistently reliable crop of virtually identical plants maturing at much the same time. Harvesting is more staggered with open-pollinated ones. F1 seeds are developed by cross breeding different varieties. Unlike open-pollinated ones, they are only stable for one generation, are much more expensive and each pack contains a tiny pinch of seeds.

Although open-pollinated varieties like parsnips are only viable for a year, many others like peas and brassicas are long-lasting. Although firms must include seed packing date, they dont have to give a use by one, though many do. So if youre not sure about seed viability in older packets, check germination rates by first sowing some in a seed tray.

Im all for using heritage seeds but here, too, Brexit intervenes. It now costs between 2000 and 2500 euros to test one tomato variety, so its too expensive for EU firms to maintain varieties simply for the UK amateur market.

And individual open-pollinated ones each need lots of stock plants to ensure stability. I doubt this always happens. I prefer growing dwarf broad beans that dont need staking but Robin Hood is the only one now available and its becoming very unstable. Germination rates are around 60-70% and plants from the same packet range from 20cm to 50cm in height. But, if possible, Ill always choose open pollinated seeds.

Plant of the week

Hamamelis mollis Jermyns Gold is an early flowering witch hazel bearing clusters of large, broad-petalled, sweet-scented, golden-yellow flowers. Warmed by even weak winter sun the scent is captivating.

More here:

Gardeners will be hammered by new Brexit changes, says Dave Allan - HeraldScotland

THE UK Government has been accused of throwing the fishing sector on the scrapheap with paltry schemes to compensate for Brexit losses.

New figures show the 23 million UK-wide Seafood Disruption Support Scheme (SDSS) which promised to cover up to 100,000 of losses for disruption to seafood businesses during January last year paid out just under 380,000 to 31 applicants.

A subsequent scheme the Seafood Response Fund (SRF) was also launched by UK ministers. According to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), both schemes have now paid out 16 million to 2300 businesses working out at an average payment of around 7000 per applicant.

In January last year the Scottish fishing industry was plunged into crisis after post-Brexit problems with health checks, IT systems and customs documents caused huge backlogs, leading to delayed and spoiled stock. It was estimated 1 million a day was being lost by Scottish seafood firms.

READ MORE:Boris Johnson hails return of pounds and ounces as 'key success' of Brexit

Deidre Brock SNP MP, Defra spokesperson at Westminster, said the SDSS fund had been a desperate attempt to clear up a giant mess created by the UK Government.

She said: Hard-line Brexiteers boasted of the opportunities that leaving the EU would create for fishers.Instead, theirsector hasbeen thrown on the scrap heap along with the rest of the UKs food and drinks industry, treated as expendable in the ideologically-driven pursuit of Brexit.

If the Tories think that with thispaltryfund theyre alleviating the enormous problems they created, their heads are buried in the sand and itll come at the cost of one of Scotlands most vital exporters.

The figures provided by Defra show taking into account devolved emergency support schemes, more than 22 million of financial support has been given to seafood businesses affected by both Covid and Brexit.

The Scottish Government said the SDSS which initially offered only limited support to food exporters and no support to fishing vessels had been badly misjudged.

It said any share of UK spending should be allocated to Holyrood directly to avoid similar errors of judgement in future and allow targeted support for businesses affected by a disastrous Brexit process.

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: In response the Scottish Government launched our own scheme to support Scottish fishing vessels, an approach which, in turn, forced the UK Government to amend the terms of its own scheme to offer support to fishing vessels.

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This demonstrates a worrying and continuing attitude from Defra and UK Government on what support the fishing and marine sectors in Scotland require and, regrettably we can see this applies across nearly all areas in which the UK Government seeks to directly spend in Scotland.

Jimmy Buchan, CEO of the Scottish Seafood Association, said he hoped the finalisation of a 100m UK Government scheme last month would bring more support for the industry but pointed it out it was a year on when it was first promised.

He said: It is great to grab headlines and get the industry to believe in you, but then your deliverance is not in keeping with what the industry expected.

The money has now been tabled and we just hope business can now draw down on that and get plans into reality.

The figures on the SDSS were revealed in a House of Commons parliamentary question asked by Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael.

Defra minister Victoria Prentis responded: In February the scheme received 119 applications across the UK with 31 applicants meeting the criteria for the scheme ... the total amount delivered through the scheme was 377,138.11.

A UK Government spokesman said: Last year we delivered over 22 million of financial support to seafood businesses affected by Covid-19 and new export requirements through UK-wide and devolved emergency schemes. Of that, 2300 eligible businesses have received a share of just under 16 million through the UK-wide SDSS and SRF schemes.

In addition, the UK Seafood Fund will provide a 100 million funding boost to help industry and coastal communities across the UK.

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'Paltry' schemes compensating Brexit losses throwing UK fishing on the 'scrapheap' - The National