MP’s vote down ‘crucial’ Bill clause

In Monday evening’s session, MPs voted down Amendment 16 by 53 votes (322 votes to 279). The amendment, which was tabled in the Lords by Lord Grantchester, Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville, Lord Krebs & Baroness Boycott, had garnered a swathe of cross-party support, including from several Conservative MPs. Amendment 18 (the Curry amendment) which would have made the Trade and Agriculture Commission statutory was deemed by the Speaker to be disagreed to as it would impose a charge on the public revenue.

BVA, which represents over 18,000 vets across the UK, has previously urged the Government not to allow animal welfare standards to be compromised in pursuit of future trade deals.

James Russell, BVA President, said: “This result is a severe blow for animal welfare and a betrayal of the Government’s own manifesto commitment to maintain and improve on health and welfare standards.

“After such a strong show of support in the Lords, it is bitterly disappointing that the majority of MPs have chosen to ignore the groundswell of public and professional feeling and have voted against a clause that would have safeguarded our own renowned standards and offered crucial protections to the reputation and livelihood of the UK’s farming industry. We have long argued that the UK cannot commit to raising the bar domestically while allowing in goods that don’t meet the high standards that British consumers rightly want and expect.”

In response to the vote in the commons on the agriculture bill, Gareth Morgan, head of farming and land use policy at the Soil Association said: “We are very disappointed the House of Commons has rejected key amendments on import standards, climate change and pesticides in the Agriculture Bill, that has been proposed by the House of Lords.

“Putting these protections into law is vital to protect us against trade deals that could lower food production standards, threaten our environmental and climate change commitments, and undercut British farmers.”

Meanwhile, the Nature Friendly Farming Network UK Chair, Martin Lines, said: “Whilst we welcome much of what’s been said on the Agriculture Bill at the despatch box to date, the Nature Friendly Farming Network (NFFN) is extremely disappointed at the outcome of tonight’s vitally important votes. Despite manifesto commitments and repeated assurances from successive governments not to lessen standards in trade, the government has instead passed on one of the final opportunities to enshrine our high-quality environmental and animal welfare standards in law and to protect the UK farming industry.”

RSPCA Chief Executive Chris Sherwood said: “Tonight, the Government once again failed to make good their manifesto promise that they will not sell out the UK’s animal welfare for a quick trade deal. The decision of MPs to reject a crucial amendment to the Agriculture Bill which would have stopped lower welfare imports from being allowed into the UK is the strongest signal yet that the Government wants to leave the door open to deals which could see chlorine-washed chicken, hormone-treated beef, eggs from hens in barren battery cages and pork from pigs reared in sow stalls flooding our supermarket shelves. The vote also shows a disregard for the British public, 83% of whom said they did not want lower standard imports coming in from the US when we leave the EU. It is now up to the Lords to represent the conscience of the public and stand up for our farm standards.”