KEIR Starmer has been accused of keeping silent about the damage caused by Brexit despite knowing all about it.
Speaking after a Government report revealed Brexit has undermined the UK’s food security, the former director of the Scottish Centre on European Relations, Kirsty Hughes, said that while the Prime Minister was aware of the damage, he was “not willing to talk about it or to take any major steps to rectify it”.
Since the UK left the European Union, the Tory and Labour governments have steered clear of mentioning the damaging effects but the latest report from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) appears to have broken the mould.
Along with climate change and war, its report on UK food security blames Brexit for a “notable decrease” in the number of food-secure households.
However, the report shows that food bank use has fallen marginally in Scotland while it has risen by 11% in Northern Ireland and by 5% in England.
Analysis from the Fraser of Allander Institute suggests the Scottish Child Payment successfully reduces food bank usage for specific types of households, particularly single-adult households.
Food-secure households are defined as households that have enough food for an active, healthy life.
The figures are for 2023 and have been compared with those from 2020, showing a 2% drop in food security overall in the UK to 90% of households that are food secure. This includes those that are “mostly food secure”, meaning affording a balanced diet is only occasionally a worry.
Households classed as “highly food secure” dropped from 87% to 84% in the same period.
Overall, lower-income households and those with children or people with disabilities were most acutely affected. A total of 84% of households with disabled people are classified as food secure, compared to 94% of households without disabled people.
Additionally, the poorest households consumed 42% fewer fruits and vegetables than recommended, compared with 13% for the richest.
Extreme weather events have hit food production in the UK and the Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to a rise in costs but the report also points to the sharp drop in imports and labour shortages caused by Brexit.
The UK produces approximately 60% of the food that Brits consume, with 40% coming from imports.
Hughes said: “It would seem self-evident that Brexit would damage food security both through barriers to trade with the EU in both directions, through much less access to EU labour for agriculture and food sectors and through the change in subsidies.
“There should have been some potential benefits at least in moving from the EU’s common agricultural policy to a more sensible, sustainable subsidy policy focusing on smaller farms – often hard done by in EU policies. But the confusion, delay and inadequacies in the previous Tory government policies assured that not even that plus point has happened.”
She added: “Keir Starmer knows the damage Brexit is doing but is not willing to talk about it or take any major steps to rectify it. His goal of at least aligning on agri-food and health standards with the EU would help a bit but awaits serious talks with the EU which will require give and take, including on youth mobility.”
Environmental service providers Sigma Earth said the data showed UK food trends in a “dismal light”.
“The Defra report shows how urgent it is to solve issues related to food security using comprehensive and sustainable strategies,” a spokesperson said.
“Mandatory actions comprise bolstering domestic food production, assisting farming communities and reducing the impact of climate change. Additionally, the deteriorating crisis can be lessened by re-examining trade and labour regulations after Brexit and offering targeted aid to vulnerable populations.”
The Scottish Government’s Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “As the report outlines, we know that both Brexit and the UK cost of living crisis have had an impact on food insecurity.
“That is why we have prioritised tackling poverty as part of the 2025-26 Scottish Budget and are taking direct action through social security including the Scottish Child Payment.
“Undoubtedly, though, we know it is only with the full economic and fiscal powers of an independent nation that we will have all the levers other governments have to tackle inequalities.”
