Tuesday 15 March 2016

Brexit Welsh Tory leader recived £100,000 farming subsidy from the EU in a year

The Wasting Mule reports that tThe family farming business of anti-EU Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies received EU subsidies totaling nearly £100,000 in a year, 

The Mule states.


Last month Mr Davies, who farms in the Vale of Glamorgan and represents South Wales Central, announced he would be voting to Leave the EU in the referendum to be held on June 23.
Yet the public record shows that over the period October 16 2013 to October 15 2014, his family firm TJ Davies and Sons received a total of £96,808.89 in EU subsidies. Of that, £70,930.63 was allocated under the Single area payment scheme, with a further £24,099.86 in agro-environmental payments and £1,728.40 from the first afforestation of agricultural land scheme.

It  has also been reported that Figures available on the UK Government’s searchable database, cap-payments.defra.gov.uk, show that Brecon and Radnorshire AM Ms Williams’ family firm DC Rees and Son of Brecon received a total of £60,594.21 in EU subsidies between October 2013 and October 2014. 

Over the same period Mid and West Wales Lib Dem AM William Powell ’s family firm DJ and WD Powell received subsidies totalling £8,232.32 in respect of a farm at Talgarth.
Former North Wales Tory AM Antoinette Sandbach ’s firm Hafodunos received subsidy payments of £21,113.71 for a farm in Conwy . She resigned last year after being elected MP for a Cheshire seat. She plans to vote for the UK to remain in the EU. 

 A pro-EU Welsh Conservative source said: 

“Andrew RT Davies’ family business is benefiting to the extent of almost £100,000 a year from European Commission subsidies, yet he wants Wales and the UK to leave the EU.
 There is absolutely no guarantee that the same level of subsidies would be available from the UK Government if voters decide in the referendum that we should come out of the EU. Nor, as the Prime Minister pointed out at the Welsh Conservative conference in Llangollen last week , can Welsh farmers expect to avoid tariff barriers if we leave the Single Market. "Andrew RT Davies may feel like gambling with the subsidies he is fortunate enough to receive from the EU, but may others will not be prepared to do so. Both the unions representing farmers in Wales are backing a remain vote in the referendum, and there are very clear financial reasons for that.

Unless there of course is a secret agreement  among Top Tories that such subsidies will continue.
 
At first glance this looks like a strong  argument  or the REMAIN side.

However, It could be argued that the EU Farm polices are  spending to much on subsidising farmers , When the money could be better spent elsewhere.

Of course it would take a brave Politician even a Tory to argue that  Agriculture should be treated in the same way we treat other Industries and unprofitable Farms should not be supserdised.


For instance how many people do Andrew RT Davies'  family firm TJ Davies and Sons employ?

But Remain or Stay is it not time we questioned how well this money has been used  and how much benefit we really ger out of it.

 


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

If ART Davies is willing to forego an EU subsidy, maybe this shows that he is putting political principles above personal gain?

Anonymous said...

As we wrote this week agriculture is still very important to Wales, directly employing nearly 60,000 people and generating hundreds of millions for the welsh economy.So those subsidies must be doing some good.

90 percent of welsh agricultural exports are with the EU amd it's hard to see how brexit could be anything but a disaster for the welsh farming industry, which makes rt davies' stance all the more astonishing.

http://agreenwales.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/frankenstein-foods-fracking-ukips.html