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The UK Labour party had its first conference since returning to government this week.
After 15 years out of government, the landslide victory in the recent general election should have meant the focus was more on celebration than policy, but controversy on pension policy meant that any celebration was short-lived.
Unsurprisingly, agriculture didn’t feature prominently on the agenda, with the main event being a fringe meeting in which National Farmers Union (NFU) president Tom Bradshaw called for a mindset change in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) - the government department that is responsible for farming.
He was particularly critical of a £358m (€428m) underspend in the farming budget over the past three years.
Post-Brexit challenges
That, of course, was under the previous administration and a satisfactory replacement for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) method of support for agriculture is one of the many post-Brexit challenges facing the new government as it approaches 100 days in office.
Another challenge that has come to the fore this week - as reported in The Guardian - is that the UK has ceased to be an attractive market for EU flower and plant suppliers, with many citing the border bureaucracy as a reason for no longer wanting to do business.
It is understood that the UK government has deferred inspections on these products for a further period beyond 1 January, when they were due to come into effect.
Brexit lingers
The government has also deferred the introduction of a 'not for EU' label on all meat production in Britain. This was agreed as part of the Windsor Framework agreement with the EU and was designed to prevent leakage of product circulating within the UK, including Northern Ireland, to the EU via the land border with the Republic of Ireland.
This label has featured on many meat products, but it was intended to become compulsory with effect from 1 October for all goods traded in Britain, so that they could flow freely to Northern Ireland.
There was a strong lobby against this in Britain, supported by the NFU, as it was estimated that it could add up to £250m (€300m) to production costs.
We want to negotiate an SPS and veterinary agreement with the EU
In his conference speech this week, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn MP said that “we want to negotiate an SPS and veterinary agreement with the EU, not least because it would help smooth the flow of goods across the Irish Sea”.
If that was in place, it would remove much of the bureaucracy and consequent expense for traders, as it would eliminate the need for veterinary certification and border inspections.
Solutions require compromise
The Labour party had avoided all reference to Brexit in the lead-up to the UK general election and the prime minister has been on a charm offensive around EU capitals since coming into office.
However, so far, there is little evidence of a major shift in policy and the barriers created by Brexit remain in place, while there are more either deferred or still to come as referred to earlier.
An SPS agreement would be a useful first step, but even better would be a UK return to the EU single market - similar to Norway, which is a member of the single market without being a member of the EU.
However, that is somewhat problematical given the sensitivity with immigration, as being a member of the single market means accepting free movement of people as well as goods, services and capital.
The government in London may have changed, but Brexit issues are likely to remain for the foreseeable future.
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