Farms will be devastated. The countryside will be ruined. And we will all be forced to eat weird food that will probably kill us. As the government tries to finalise a free trade deal with Australia, there are already reports of fierce rows over the future of agriculture played out against a backdrop of a angry backlash from the farming lobby.
It’s time for the government so face up to these critics. True, farming is not crucial to the future of the British economy, and neither, as it happens, is trade with Australia. But the principle is important – and if the UK doesn’t embrace free trade then leaving the EU will hardly have been worth the bother.
Over the next few weeks, we can expect to hear plenty of arguments against the deal
The UK’s trade deal with Australia could be finalised before the summer is over. It should remove all tariffs and quotas between the two countries, create a measure of free movement for people; and, most importantly, create a template for similar deals across the Pacific.
There is one snag, however.
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