The short Brexit transition period is preventing a much-needed debate around food policy in the UK, the Labour Party’s agriculture spokesperson has said.

Trade negotiations between the EU and UK are ongoing, but the UK plans to end the transition on 31 December 2020, regardless of progress in the talks.

“This accelerated timetable has distorted what should be a full and open discussion about the future of our food policies,” shadow Defra secretary Daniel Zeichner said.

The Labour MP maintained that the coronavirus crisis has reinforced the need to review the UK’s food system. He argued that the now delayed National Food Strategy review should be completed before post-Brexit trade deals are agreed, and new legislation relating to farming is passed.

“I’m afraid the Brexit imperative has overruled all that,” Zeichner said in a webinar organised by the Rural Policy Group.

The Cambridge MP was sceptical of the government’s plans to cut direct payments to farmers in England from next year while offering a “fairly generous” early retirement scheme. It will potentially allow English farmers to take a lump sum (instead of future payments) and exit the industry.

“I would say it’s fairly obvious what the thinking is there – fewer farms here with food to be imported from elsewhere,” Zeichner suggested.

“I suspect if this was explained to the wider public, in fact, if it was explained to many Conservative MPs in the House of Commons, they would dubious about it as well,” he added.

However, there seems to be agreement between the Conservative and Labour parties about moving towards environment-based farm support schemes.

“Replacing the farm support system with public money for public goods has been widely supported, and rightly so. We all want to move towards a more environmentally friendly system,” Zeichner said.

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