Comments by "Helen Trope" (@heliotropezzz333) on "ThamesTv" channel.

@Bahama3ay Well it's not been much publicised by the Tory tabloids (if at all) but that idiot Boris, when he got his withdrawal agreement gave away £7 billion of British money that was sitting in the European bank and he didn't even have to do that. He does not really value public money. To him it's just free money to be given away to the already wealthy. The CAP also protects small British farmers though I'm for reform of it but leaving farmers without any protection in a hard Brexit would be disastrous for small farmers like Welsh hill farmers because the tariff on sheep exports to Europe would be over 40% and farmers won't be able to compete against cheap imports from the likes of the USA because their costs are cheaper because they use chemicals banned in Europe and have lower animal welfare standards. The only farmers that would do o.k under a hard Brexit are industrial scale ones that would adopt the same low standards. There have been some industrial scale farms in Britain on the USA model (though with higher EU standards) but the pollution of neighbouring land and waterways from animal waste from these giants, has been very bad. Did you know also under this government that there is no now river that is regarded as free from pollution?
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What? Pretty well everyone had a TV in the 1970s.
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Prices went up to protect farming. On a hard Brexit, if there are no tariffs, certain food prices will go down but at the expense of the British farming industry which is already struggling. Fresh food that we get a lot of from Europe will go up in price or if we go further afield to get it, it will have to travel a long way and won't be transported fresh but frozen. Food is historically cheap in Britain now compared to earnings as there are a lot more supermarket chains and competition is putting downward pressure on food prices. It's obviously not cheap for poor people but the creation of more poverty is down to this government's policies over the last 9 years and a hard Brexit will do nothing to alleviate that.
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@superseven220 I thought the CAP was meant to support more the smaller more traditional farms to preserve a way of life in France. I think you may have shattered my illusions now :-(
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Trump before he was blond and orange.
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@katyb6979 Prices are historically low anyway because of Supermarket competition. If prices go lower than the cost of producing food, farmers will not be able to produce it. They can't take losses indefinitely. Yes I've seen poor farmers. A lot are leaving farming and there's a high suicide rate. The big farmers who farm on an industrial scale may survive (but only by dropping animal welfare standards and food safety standards in order to compete with the American companies etc). Tenant farmers are the poorest ones and Welsh hill farmers who are not wealthy will suffer because without a deal the tariff from Europe will be over 40% for lamb exports from Britain. Even Patrick Minford who is a huge fan of Brexit and is often cited by Jacob Rees Mogg in support of Brexit has said British agriculture and British manufacturing will probably collapse under a no deal Brexit. Farmers also won't be able to compete with imports from countries where food is produced by poor peasants paid pennies and with no rights. The only way to protect British farmers after Brexit is to put a tariff on food imports, but if we do that food prices will rise for British consumers. I can't see Boris doing that.
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@jonsimmons4150 There are different kinds of farmers; those with large farms and those with small; agricultural farmers and hill farmers, owner farmers and tenant farmers, rich farmers and poor farmers. Farmers are finding it much harder to export their products since Brexit. However, as long as they keep voting Conservative, I guess the majority must either be doing o.k. or not be very politically aware.
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@jonsimmons4150 Selling the land off for development is often a sign that farming is not viable and it's not good for a country to rely mainly on food imports just like it's not good to rely mainly on gas imports. We earn our living as a country through exports too. Food supply worldwide will be under pressure even more so in future (says the Bank of England among others). Ukraine used to supply a large element of wheat and oils worldwide which it cannot do now, and climate change reduces food production also. We need a food strategy in Britain that keeps the farming sector healthy - not one of enriching already wealthy farmers.
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@jonsimmons4150 An economy that relies on imports is not earning its living and is open to their food supply becoming hostage to political arguments. South African farmers operate in a different climate with different scale farms and with cheaper labour. It's not the same in Britain.
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@jonsimmons4150 And watch the economy and food standards go down the Swanee. O yes, that's 'taking back control' isn't it, outsourcing everything?
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@jonathansimmons5353 Doesn't matter whether I'm a remainer or not. What matters is facts and feasibility of what we say. Your solutions were not solutions. Most countries in the world want trade deals with the EU or other trade blocs as trading on WTO terms (the default position) is the worst trading position. Japan is a wealthy nation - a nation of savers not a nation that has been persuaded to live on credit.
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@jonsimmons4150 I don't think such standards apply to animals in Australia though, do they?
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@jonsimmons4150 A letter from the Scottish Minister for Rural Affairs to the UK Minister of State for Trade policy, concerning the UK's free trade agreement with Australia, references 'the scale of antibiotic use on Australian farms for non-therapeutic purposes', with concerns about the implications for anti-microbial resistance, (one of the top WHO concerns) and also states 'Australian farmers adhere to lower animal welfare standards than their UK counterparts therefore, the non-regression clause incorporates Australia’s lower welfare standards into the agreement.'
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@jonsimmons4150 We don't eat Eastern Europe trafficked horsemeat in the UK and animal welfare standards are higher here - so there! Na na, na na na 😉
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@jonsimmons4150 I don't remember ever commenting on Japan and I don't know what you are on about. How does that connect with the former discussion?
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@sammyd7857 I listened to a video from this guy but since he usually produces at least one video a day if not more, I'm finding it hard to track down the exact video it was on. Here is an example but I don't think it's the right one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61hZJZKSJVA
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@kevinbillington9773 Was it? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfby9S0Eolg&list=FLGGEn5ziDGQqNRr1m3pwHBg&index=4&t=220s
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@sammyd7857 This is my source https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfby9S0Eolg&list=FLGGEn5ziDGQqNRr1m3pwHBg&index=4&t=220s
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@superseven220 I didn't think that's what France wanted. That's a shock. I expect that's where the UK will be heading next after a hard Brexit. It's the pressures of globalisation on agriculture.
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