Candidates give views on Brexit...
Tom Davies - Labour
Labour’s Brexit position is straightforward: we will negotiate a deal with the EU that protects worker’s rights, environmental and consumer standards, jobs, trade and the economy and put that deal back to the public in a confirmatory vote with the option to remain. Welsh Labour will campaign to remain.
The whole process will be completed within six months.
Whether we voted leave or remain, we have learned a lot about Brexit in the last three years, including what sort of deal is and is not practical. Together we can now use that knowledge to make a final decision about what is in the best interests of the country. We will implement this final decision.
Boris Johnson’s deal will result in a loss of £70 billion to the country, farmers going out of business and our NHS being sold to Donald Trump. It fails to protect workers’ rights, food standards, jobs, trade and the economy.
What was overwhelmingly clear from farmers and the unions at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair yesterday, is that agriculture needs a Brexit deal protecting access to the single market and customs union. Boris Johnson is quite prepared to sell Welsh farmers down the river, whilst flooding the country with cheap, low quality products in sell-out trade deals.
A vote for the Conservatives is a vote to make us even poorer, decimate businesses and agriculture and sell off our NHS.
Only Labour will put Brexit to bed once and for all and bring real change to our country.
Jane Dodds - Liberal Democrats
Any form of Brexit will be hugely damaging for Wales, but a no-deal would be the worst possible outcome for our communities here in rural Mid Wales.
Our farmers rely upon trade with European markets for their lamb and beef exports, meaning any tariffs, quotas and additional barriers to this trade will have a huge impact on their livelihoods.
The Government may claim their current Brexit proposals rule this out but that’s just simply not true. Under the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK will enter a year-long transition period, in which time negotiations will take place to determine our future trading relationship with the EU.
However, the agreement also provides no safeguards in case a deal is not be reached within this time frame. The EU-Canada trade deal took seven years to negotiate and was a hugely challenging ordeal. Even Europe have made clear many times that negotiating a comprehensive trade deal within 12 months would be incredibly difficult.
To make matters worse, the Conservatives and their candidate here in Brecon and Radnorshire have ruled out any extension to this transition period in their manifesto, meaning the most likely outcome is now a damaging no-deal Brexit, including all the tariffs and quotas that come with it.
We cannot allow Brexit to ravage our rural economy and we must do all we can to safeguard our farmers and build a brighter future for our communities. That is why the Welsh Liberal Democrats are standing up against the Conservatives’ damaging Brexit plans.
Jeff Green - Christian Party
The Christian Party hears the concerns of the British public, who do not want to be run by a European superstate. In keeping with our rejection of ‘big Government’, we do not support Britain’s continued membership of the European Union. The British people voted for a free trade area – a Common Market – not a European State.
With the Referendum in 2016, 52 per cent in Wales (53 per cent in Powys) voted in favour of leaving the EU. We know the increasing unease with the power-hungry EU partly accounted for the majority to vote for Brexit. However, we also know that there are a multitude of reasons voters overwhelmingly voted to leave - much to the dismay of former MPs. After three years of utter frustration at the lack of progress by many who do not believe leaving the EU is in the UK’s best interest, we have not changed our mind and we will continue to press the government to deliver the Brexit that has been promised to the British people.
Britain was persuaded to abandon its former free trade with the British Commonwealth, and this was replaced by the European tariff on external trade, currently called the Common Customs Tariff. The Common Fisheries Policy was applied to the North Sea and not to the Mediterranean nor to the Baltic, putting Britain at a disadvantage to other European countries. The Common Agricultural Policy has disadvantaged British farmers for years. The Christian Party will seek to redress this imbalance through our economic and foreign policy and new trade deals. Although we love and respect our European neighbours, we are also not afraid to be free.
Lady Lily the Pink - Official Monster Raving Loony Party
As the candidate for the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, there is no party line to follow; as individuals, we Loonies exist to prick the balloon of political pomposity and highlight the absurdities.
So, I will only say this. In order to be considered for your vote in this constituency, I promise in my manicfesto, to make six more promises than any of the other candidates; and in line with recent elections and the pledges made, I also promise not to implement any of said promises should I win.
Brexit has been a four year fiasco of indecision, name calling and blame; an exercise in obstruction and used as a tool to avoid addressing any of the other issues this country is having to face; be it acting on the agreed climate emergency; the NHS crisis; the social care crisis; the policing/crime crisis; the homelessness; in work poverty/foodbank crisis; the tax loopholes; the ever increasing national debt etc. And with the election pacts, it seems almost certain that this election rather than being a General one, is indeed purely another, albeit unofficial, Brexit referendum; and I feel pretty sure that manifesto leanings over Brexit leanings will ensure a result of similarly divided proportions.
So why not? Re Brexit, call in Noel Edmunds, an expert on the management of Deal or No Deal; get the Germans to pay for all cases of German Measles, The Spanish to pay for outbreaks of Spanish Flu and share all other costs 50/50 with the Dutch.
Fay Jones - Conservative Party
We have a bright future outside the European Union. Politicians cannot pick and choose which votes we respect. We asked the people to decide in 2016 and we must listen. A Conservative government and the deal that the Prime Minister has negotiated gives certainty, allowing us to start working towards a Free Trade Agreement, maintaining our access to the European market.
There are opportunities to be grasped, increase trade in both domestic and export markets and take back control of our laws. The Conservatives will support the agricultural sector through this transition period, ensuring they have the investment and support needed to move forward and take advantage of new opportunities. I am pleased that we have committed to maintaining existing levels of agricultural funding for the next five years - giving farmers the confidence they need to go forward.
Only a majority Conservative Government can offer certainty through this deal and get Brexit done. Both the Labour Party and Liberal Democrats want this paralysis and stagnation to go on for years to come. I firmly reject any suggestion of a ‘People’s Vote/Second Referendum’ and we simply cannot ignore the result of the 2016 referendum and revoke Article 50. I am the only candidate in Brecon and Radnorshire willing to deliver what people asked for.
It’s only by ending the stalemate on Brexit that we can move on - and only a Conservative Member of Parliament will deliver this.
The UK General Election is set to take place on Thursday, December 12.
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