Now UK farmers protest against post-Brexit imports
British campaigners say they will continue protests after blocking roads near Dover with around 40 tractors, and have vowed further action because of cheap post-Brexit imports.
Action also took place in Carmarthen, Wales, where 3,000 farmers gathered to protest. A mock coffin with a plaque reading “In memory of Welsh farming” was carried by the assembled crowd.
Spanish, Polish and Hungarian farmers have also taken to the streets, following initial protests in Germany, France and Belgium earlier in the month (News, 7 February). Criticism has chiefly been levelled at prices, input costs and the impact of environmental regulations. Conservationist, farmer and author Jamie Blackett told ST: “It now looks as though the farmers’ revolt is not just a flash in the pan. Several European governments have already made concessions, which is likely to embolden the protesters.
“Demonstrations in the UK are already taking place in all four parts of the United Kingdom. They have so far been a spontaneous, kneejerk reaction to the effects of globalisation. What we need is a coherent charter of demands so that we can extract a meaningful change in direction from the government in this election year,” he emphasised.
