Cornwall's Daffodil Growers Face Post-Brexit Worker Vacuum; Cornwall Voted 56% For Brexit
Oh well.
Millions of daffodil stems will be left to rot in the fields this spring, as growers face a critical labour shortage that they fear could spell the end of the entire industry. “If we can’t recruit more pickers, there won’t be a daffodil industry left. The situation is very grim,” said James Hosking, of Fentongollan Farm, near Truro in Cornwall.
Some growers expect up to 75% of their crop will be left unpicked this spring due to a lack of workers. Many smaller growers are planning to give up daffodil growing entirely, with attempts to recruit locals failing to bring enough people to the fields. Cornwall’s mild climate and light intensity make it the heart of the UK’s £100m industry, with around 80% of the world’s daffodils grown in the duchy. Harvesting begins in the first week of January and a workforce of around 2,500 people is needed to pick over a billion stems.
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The government has promised to extend a visa scheme allowing farmers to bring in seasonal workers from overseas. At the moment it only applies to fruit and vegetables, with non-edible crops excluded. Kevin Foster MP, the immigration minister, however, last week told MPs on the environment, food and rural affairs committee that non-edible crops will be added to the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (Saws).
But with just two weeks to go until picking is due to start and no formal announcement, growers say they need to start recruiting now if they are to save this year’s harvest. “If, next week, the government announces a visa scheme that includes ornamental crops, we could potentially get up to speed with recruitment by early February. At least then the industry has a future,” said Newey. “We’re hopeful it will happen, but it has to happen soon.”
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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/dec/18/millions-of-daffodils-will-rot-if-brexit-denies-uk-farmers-foreign-workers
On Thursday, 56 percent of all voters in the southwestern county of Cornwall voted in favor of leaving the European Union. It was a decision supported by a majority of the county's members of Parliament. But only one day later, Cornwall residents were asking, "What have we done?"
The county is heavily dependent on the more than 60 million British pounds ($82 million) in E.U. subsidies per year that are transferred to the region and that have helped finance infrastructure projects and education schemes. Now, county officials are panicking — fearing the worst for the county's future and wondering why one of the most E.U.-dependent counties in Britain voted against the E.U. — and its money.
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In a 2014 study by research community Civitas found that impoverished counties such as Cornwall would have most to lose from Brexit. The E.U. particularly supports poorer regions and member states with its subsidies — which is why the poorest in Britain may feel the lack of money being transferred from Brussels most.
"Cornwall is a major beneficiary of EU spending so if Britain were to leave then the Treasury would have to take great care in ensuring its local economy was not crippled as a result," Jonathan Lindsell, one of the study's authors, explained in an interview with the Western Morning News after the study was published in 2014.
But such warnings did not deter Cornwall residents from voting for Brexit. Leave" campaigners had previously reassured the county that it would not lose any subsidies if it left the E.U. However, Cornwall officials are now worried that such reassurances might have been little more than ill-thought-out promises.
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Besides immigration, the desolate state of Britain's health-care system (NHS) significantly contributed to anti-E.U. anger, as Euroskeptics blamed the European Union for costing the country too much and wasting resources that could be spent domestically. But on Friday, Farage suddenly said it was a "mistake" to have promised allocating $470 million to the NHS and distanced himself from that campaign slogan, saying he had never agreed to it.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/06/25/after-residents-voted-for-brexit-this-british-county-realized-the-e-u-might-stop-sending-them-money/?nid=top_pb_signin&arcId=JCMC3UMKXVEGTBRBZRKH4GXKZY&account_location=ONSITE_HEADER_ARTICLE
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