Pesticides that kill bees have just been brought back into use in England – breaking the government’s promise that it would keep them banned after Brexit.
The neonicotinoids are banned by the European Union because of the “serious danger they pose to bees” – which are so vital to our ecosystem."
Just for info, this has nothing to do with Brexit. the Uk has given special dispensation to use neonics in sugar beet seed dressing. The sugar beet doesn’t get to flower so doesn’t affect bees. Several other EU countries including France have given similar dispensations.
On another note, I was charged TVA on a product from Scotland- £50 approx for product including delivery, bill for €18 from customs, €13 TVA + €5 admin fee!
Johnson is always confused.
Surely some one should have pointed out the difference to him.
I remember hearing a programme on the radio on this very subject and the rules are very strict regarding the instruments used. They are examined and if you break a string or plectrum, you have to keep the bits to show to Customs.
Totally mad.
Exactly, re sugar beet.
It is harvested before flowering so that all the energy goes into the root and not into flowering and making seed, which will probably be sterile if they are using F1 Hybrid seed anyway.
It really makes me sick when townies who stay in their concrete jungles start interfering in things of which they know nothing.
As with many things in the environmental debate, there’s a lot more behind the headlines…And when news is presented like this, it just causes division, when all sides need to work together. Here this piece has been hijacked to add fuel to the Brexit debate without any fact checking.
I have to say in the nicest politest possible way you are living in fantasy land about rejoining, for most people any disruption will have no effect, there will be no appetite after four years of acrimonious argument to reopen wounds.
Few uk voters are bothered about the impact on Brits in Europe, “you decided to live in a EU country so its your problem!”
There will be little reason for the EU to want to reopen and no votes in it for UK mainstream political parties (even for LibDems) …all we can hope for is softening round the edges …once Covid ceases to occupy everybody.
But there are MANY young voters who see themselves as at least European if not citizens of the World and who hate the Little Englander attitude. They are the ones on whom I pin my hopes.
While I agree that most UK voters are not bothered - or more likely not aware - of the impact on Brits in the EU, I don’t agree that the disruption will have no effect on them. It’s just that the effects on us here in the EU have been up-front - the effects on UK residents are still disguised.
Apart from the long-term impacts on jobs, living standards, etc, there are actually many groups that will soon feel more immediate direct impacts, such as…
The huge number of Brits that travel to the EU regularly (The number of visits from the UK to the EU every year is about the same as the entire UK population! - obviously some people come a lot of times and some not at all, but literally tens of millions holiday pretty regularly in France, Spain, Italy, Greece, etc.)…
Anybody employed, or in any way directly involved in import-export - and indeed many other kinds of UK businesses…
UK customers of many businesses based in the EU…
Young people wanting to study and work in EU countries (and as Sue pointed out - young people are already overwhelmingly in favour of rejoining the EU anyway)…
Yes, I don’t think there’s any appetite in Labour to reopen the discussion. But Nicola Sturgeon is playing a blinder while Johnson blunders around so Scottish demands for secession could throw a haggis the works Also things aren’t going exactly swimmingly in NI. The DUP have a dilemma, it used to be that wealthy NI folk (predominantly Protestant) were supportive of the Union, if not fanatically so. Now they see there’s a very complicated trade off between Unionist ideology, the NI economy and security. That why Arlene has moderated her unionist bluster and is keeping a low profile. She doesn’t know which horse to back.
Gun not even loaded, I realised this was part of another article. But I’ve seen the neonic dispensation ruling used in the Brexit context elsewhere. But would agree with the other points in the article. And to add the Scottish seafood export industry is going down the pan…lots of boats tied up as can’t get their product to Europe in time anymore. Some boats are landing their catch in Denmark. So danish processors get the work and EU truckers do the delivery.
I don’t think the UK in its current form will ever rejoin. As a new member it would have to join the euro, there would be no derogations and no rebate. As Barnier and the rest of Europe has being saying for four years, the best deal the UK could ever, ever get was their existing deal.
SNP get big May election majority, BJ can’t then refuse Indeyref2 (but if he agrees it might then cost him Tory Party leadership) which he grants in Sept/Oct 2021 IndeyRef2 in March 2022 circa 58% vote yes, negotiations on split start Oct 2022 and Scotland leaves late 2023, ENGLISH + Wales general election early 2024 (all dates approx to about 3 momth variance) and who knows what then ?
I wonder how the border would be handled. It’s about 150km as opposed to the 500km Irish one, but still a challenge. Perhaps an opportunity for the Irish cross border smugglers to set up branch offices on the “mainland”. When the demand for guns and explosives dwindled they moved on to diesel and cigarettes. Who said Brexit wouldn’t bring opportunities?
