Leaving the EU: Impact on the UK

Philippa Whitford Excerpts

Wednesday 17th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Dr Philippa Whitford (Central Ayrshire) (SNP) [V]]

Some MPs on the Government Benches seemed to think they were speaking in the first debate. While they still cling to the idea of a post-Brexit fairy tale, other MPs from right across the UK have highlighted the chaos caused by Brexit and the lack of preparation for the end of the transition period.

It is not just that Scotland rejected Brexit, but that the UK Government made such a complete bourach of implementing it. In the run-up to the 2019 election, the Prime Minister repeatedly boasted that he had an oven-ready deal. Despite this clearly not being the case, he refused to extend the transition period, even in the middle of a pandemic.

Although the Government spent millions on adverts telling everyone to “Get ready for Brexit”, there was precious little information on exactly what to get ready for. The necessary IT systems were only launched in December, and the Government have now had to delay the start of their own customs and border checks on imports. Although this gives an additional grace period for importers, it puts UK exporters at a huge disadvantage to their European competitors.

It is clear the Government are hoping to blame the impact of Brexit on covid, but recent ONS data shows a much greater fall in post-transition exports to the EU than during the first covid lockdown last spring. January saw a 50% drop in the export of dairy products, a 59% drop in the export of meat and a staggering 83% fall in seafood exports to Europe.

Seafood is the biggest UK food export, and it is dominated by the Scottish fishing industry. I had actually taken the trouble to read the fisheries section of the trade deal at Christmas, and it was clear to me that there was little movement of quota from EU to UK fishermen for most species, and with no ability to swap quota with their EU counterparts, Scottish fishermen would actually be able to attach less of the popular species such as cod and haddock.

The Prime Minister claims that his deal is both tariff-free and avoids all non-tariff barriers, but I think most exporters, including skippers and fish processors in my constituency, would beg to differ. Our local catch is dominated by lobster and langoustine, 85% of which goes to EU customers. In January, the chaos made it almost impossible to export fresh or live seafood to Europe, and most local skippers had to just stop fishing, as they were already paying to freeze fish that they could not get to market.

Despite boats being tied up for weeks in the harbour, the UK Government have made eligibility for their compensation scheme so narrow that most will not qualify for any financial support. Even now, exports are taking three days instead of one, and many exporters are getting less than half their normal prices. Some on the east coast have resorted to landing their catch directly into Denmark to cut out export delays. Unfortunately, this also cuts out the onshore fishing sector, such as fish markets, processors and exporters. The Paymaster General says that she is looking for solutions to Brexit problems. May I gently suggest that the UK Government reconsider their decision to turn down a veterinary agreement with the EU, thereby reducing the sanitary and phytosanitary checks that are causing border delays? The Prime Minister’s understanding may not be too clear, but this is exactly what is meant by non-tariff barriers.

Food and drink are not the only products to be affected. Leaving the European Aviation Safety Agency has already had an impact on pilots and is now increasing costs for aerospace companies. It is not just European customers who do not yet accept the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s certificates; global customers do not recognise them either, and they expect European Union Aviation Safety Agency—EASA—certification. Inter-tec, an aerospace company in my constituency, has had to establish an office in Ireland to maintain its EASA design organisation approval. As well as EASA registration, costing £3,800 per year, it has now had to pay over £11,000 to register with the Civil Aviation Authority, and it faces paying another £11,000 every year in exorbitant annual fees that are three times those of EASA.

With the aerospace industry suffering from the impact of that pandemic, it is hard to understand how the Government think these businesses can survive, let alone thrive in the UK. Such manufacturers are also exposed to the Prime Minister’s other great fallacy: that there are no tariffs in the UK-EU trade deal. Even a cursory perusal of the section on rules of origin shows that manufacturers such as aerospace or electronics, which use a high proportion of non-UK components, will face tariffs when they export their finished goods into the EU.

In addition to the direct harm of Brexit, it is being used as an excuse to undermine devolution. The United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 can now be used to force lower food safety and environmental standards on Scottish consumers, while a return to direct rule on infrastructure spending means that UK Ministers, rather than the Scottish Government, will get to decide about Scotland’s priorities. This could result in Scotland’s infrastructure budget being squandered on a white elephant of a tunnel to Northern Ireland, despite the lack of political support for it in either country or any evidence of economic benefit. For Northern Ireland, the problem is not with the ferries but with the Brexit bureaucracy inherent in the Prime Minister’s withdrawal agreement.

Brexit is a litany of broken promises, with claims that there would be little impact on trade and no change for EU citizens. Even last January, the Prime Minister promised young people that the UK would stay in the Erasmus scheme. The loss of freedom of movement undermines Scotland’s attempt to deal with the demographic challenge of an ageing population and creates workforce issues in public services right across the UK. There has already been a 90% drop in the number of EU nurses coming to the UK, while the Home Office’s health and care visa does not even cover all care workers.

The Government’s hard Brexit bears little resemblance to the sunny uplands eulogised in 2016, and makes a mockery of the promise made during the Scottish independence campaign, “Vote no to stay in the EU”. The other broken promise was that “Scotland is an equal partner in a family of nations”. Well, that has not held up very well, as we saw the 2016 compromise proposal from the Scottish Government dismissed within weeks. The Prime Minister has treated Scotland’s wishes and interests with contempt, and he is already boasting that he plans to ignore the democratic will of the Scottish people.

MPs from other parties have criticised SNP support for the EU, but that just suggests they have not looked at the difference between the two Unions. The outcome of the vote that happened earlier this afternoon and that which will happen at the end of this debate serve to illustrate how even a clear majority of Scottish MPs are simply overruled in this place. This contrasts with the EU, in which countries work as partners and are involved in making decisions. I believe it is only as sovereign nations in their own right that the countries of the UK could avoid having decisions such as Brexit forced on them against their will and could instead choose to work together on common goals. It is only with independence that Scotland and the other UK nations will ever be equal partners on these islands.