Leading ‘Leave’ campaigner Ian Duncan Smith has publicly stated his commitment to financial support for agriculture, following the shock referendum vote to quit the European Union.
Although the final opinion polls leading into the referendum on June 23 gave the ‘Remain’ camp a significant lead and betting markets had pretty much discounted the possibility of an exit result, British voters overturned all expectations by deciding by 52 per cent to 48 per cent to end the UK’s 40-year membership of the EU.
It left leaders of British business, including farming, scrambling to try to understand what an exit from the European bloc might look like.
Ian Duncan Smith, the former Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and a former leader of the Conservative Party, moved quickly to assure farmers that, on agricultural subsidies at least, it would be business as usual.
During an interview with Andrew Marr, whilst being pressed on a promise to spend EU savings on the NHS, he said that financial commitments to agriculture would continue.
"We hand over £19.1 billion, half of which is gone into the European Union and other bits come back directed by the European Union," he said.
"We said throughout that we would stand by some critical areas. Those areas that are being funded in structural regional funds will be funded, we would have more money to spend on the NHS because we wouldn’t be losing half of that sum of money and we would stand by commitments that have been made to things like agriculture.
"The rest were all just a series of possibilities of what you could do beyond those commitments," he said.
Political landscape has changed
The National Farmers Union of Scotland, where the Brexit vote has raised the possibility of another independence referendum, said that the result had 'changed the political landscape.'
Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, says she has already started planning for another vote on Scottish independence.
She says she has also contacted European Union officials to explore the possibility of Scotland remaining a member of the EU without the rest of the United Kingdom.
NFU Scotland’s president Allan Bowie said: "The political implications of the vote are huge.
"The political landscape across the UK is now in a period of flux and speculation is likely to be unhelpful.
"What is clear, is that there was strong support to remain in the EU across every part of Scotland and that was in stark contrast to the majority of the UK.
"There is considerable debate already as to what the EU referendum means with regards to any potential future vote on Scottish independence.
"It is also apparent that the UK vote to leave has wider ramifications for the future structure of the EU.
"We need to avoid knee-jerk reactions at this time," he said. "We need a period of stability – not least to allow our financial markets and economy to stabilise - before further major decisions should be made."
He said: "The dramatic events of the past few hours will mark a period of great uncertainty for Scotland’s farmers and crofters.
"What is also clear is that the role of the union in representing our members’ views and protecting their interests will rarely have been more important in our 103-year history."
Will likely take 'at least two years' for a Brexit
He said that farming and crofting were at the core of rural Scotland and the rural economy.
The NFUS would be seeking to ensure that the negotiated exit from Europe and the Common Agricultural Policy and the domestic arrangements that were to replace them would see a profitable and competitive industry in Scotland.
He said a negotiated exit from the EU was likely to take at least two years.
"NFU Scotland will be at the centre of any discussions on new arrangements for our food and farming sector.
"There is a need for these discussions to commence quickly so that the many businesses who benefit from support from the CAP and value the markets we have established for our produce in Europe and further afield can plan for the future.
"Significant sectors of our industry are also very reliant on a workforce sourced from other parts of the EU and we need to establish any implications for their businesses.
"What will be key for Scottish agriculture will be delivery on the commitments made in the campaign about support levels for agriculture in the event of a Brexit vote and to seek reassurances on terms of trade with rest of Europe and worldwide in the future."
'Best possible access to markets' in the rest of Europe
Ian Duncan Smith seems to have committed to continued funding for agriculture, although the terms of the UK’s trade with the European Union will now be the subject of negotiations on the terms of the UK’s exit from the bloc.
Trade was one of the main issues raised by NFU president Meurig Raymond following the Brexit vote.
He said: "We must get the best possible access to markets in the rest of Europe. Although we will not be a member of the EU, it will still be our major trading partner for the foreseeable future."
He said the UK benefited from more than 50 trade agreements with countries in the rest of the world. "We will continue to need these kind of arrangements in future, whether this means negotiating new deals or not."
He is concerned about what access would be given to imports from other parts of the world and he has stressed the importance of UK agriculture being able to obtain foreign labour, both seasonal and full-time.
"Leaving the EU gives us the opportunity to build a new British agricultural policy which is adapted to our needs, easy to understand and simple to administer.
"We will be looking for guarantees that the support given to our farmers is equal to that given to farmers in the EU, who will still be our principal competitors.
"We will want to see a rural development policy which focuses on enhancing our competitiveness.
"Britain has been a pioneer in agri-environmental schemes, but these are currently running out of steam - in part because of over prescriptive EU rules.We must take this opportunity to devise better schemes.
"If there was one message which came over loud and clear in all our farmer meetings it was frustration with European regulation and its handling of product approvals, due to an over-politicised approach and excessive use of the precautionary principle.
"We now have a golden opportunity to ensure our arrangements are in future proportionate and decisions are based on sound science."
