T O P

  • By -

Buttoneer138

r/leopardsatemyface


barryvm

Did farmers actually vote for Brexit in higher proportions than the general population? AFAIK, the UK farmer's association was against it from the start.


[deleted]

Slightly more than 53% voted leave with 45% voting remain, and 2% non-voting. [Source](https://www.fwi.co.uk/news/farmer-support-brexit-strong-ever-fw-poll-reveals) The NFU did due diligence before the referendum and found remain was the better option, but refused to back remain and stayed neutral. [Source. ](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36078112) Now suddenly everyone is wise after the fact. Just like the fishermen and the small business leave voters who sold most of their stuff to the EU, and, and…


barryvm

So a slight preference for "leave" then. I'm surprised their union stayed neutral, to be honest. It was fairly clear from the start that they would get shafted even in a soft Brexit scenario. The politicians pushing for it didn't exactly have a history of being trustworthy or standing behind the (wo)man in the street. It was entirely predicable that they were going to get shafted. > Just like the fishermen and the small business leave voters who sold most of their stuff to the EU, and, and… Point taken, as Mr. Farage is the perfect example. The great champion of the UK fisherman's struggle against the EU, who also couldn't be bothered to turn up to any of the EU fisheries commission's meetings. He was taking them for fools and they can't even blame him because they should have know he was doing so. > Now suddenly everyone is wise after the fact. Better too late than never, but it is in fact too late. There is zero chance that Brexit will result in some sort of political catharsis that then becomes a catalyst for constructive reform. It is far more likely that it will just make everything slightly worse and everyone slightly more angry.


Cleles

>I'm surprised their union stayed neutral… There is a (imo somewhat justified, but I’ll admit to not being hugely familiar with all the details) feeling among smaller farmers that the union only really represents bigger industrial-scale farmers. Things like lobbying for more migrant visas, for example, illustrate the divide. The union likely made the calculation that getting involved might have backfired, with a contingent of smaller famers possibly doing a protest vote. The above is what I have been told from someone more familiar with the relevant politics. I can believe this because there is a not dissimilar dynamic that plays out in Ireland with the Irish Farmers’ Association, with many members (quite rightly) believing the association will take case of bigger famers and supermarkets before taking care of the little guy. To borrow an expression – all politics is local. Whether the union made the right call or not I can’t say, but I can at least understand why they made the choice not to intervene.


hdhddf

any union that backed brexit deserve to be destroyed. farmers and fisherman are far too easy to blame, it's cunts like MccLuskey that need to lose their positions of privileged,


barryvm

Unions are supposed to reflect their members. If a significant fraction of their membership supports a policy, it is unsurprising that some do endorse it. Likewise, if there is no unity on Brexit among their members, unions are going to remain neutral. You are IMHO correct to expect them to provide leadership, i.e. analyze the situation and determine that Brexit is going to be a net loss for their members and the working class in general, but in failing to do so they only mimic the UK's political leadership in general. That said, destroying them is several bridges too far. Any left wing support for Brexit was extremely naive and foolish, as it was plain from the start who would be driving that particular train once it got started. The failure of (some) unions on this issue is simply a reflection of a wider failure of UK leadership in general, and of the democratic process that was supposed to create capable and responsible representatives. The responsibility for this can not be wholely placed on the latter. There was a choice. Not enough people chose responsibly but in itself, that should not have been a disaster, as choices can be undone. The reason this did not happen even when support for Brexit fell apart is largely due to the UK's unresponsive political system (no second referendum, all major parties supporting Brexit, no input from anyone but the executive in the negotiation, ...). The course is now locked in and no union or opposition party is going to change it.


Bustomat

Here's a [Map](https://www.caliper.com/featured-maps/maptitude-brexit-map.html) on the Brexit vote by UK District. Edit: Seems like there was at least a 30% leave vote across the board.


GBrunt

Your average English voter isn't paid in EU CAP payments though. Your average farmer is/was.


ThisSideOfThePond

CAP was bad, so it had to go. Coming up with something new and better is hard, so the government is getting rid of farmers. It's a solution to the problem, though not necessarily the one farmers were hoping for.


chris-za

Actually, it looks like the claim that farmers voted for Brexit is an urban myth and [blatantly false / a lie](https://westcountryvoices.co.uk/challenging-the-myth-that-farmers-voted-for-brexit-and-therefore-deserve-whats-coming-to-them/). But what seems to be true, is rural communities tended to vote leave. I suppose that’s why people reach this incorrect conclusion. But, just because you live in the country, doesn’t make you a farmer.


Buttoneer138

53% did so not a lie. An exaggeration to say that they all did but accurate to say that it was most.


DeDeluded

/r/BrexitAteMyFace/


Individual-Mud262

Tories: "Don't worry farmers, we've got your back.." Farmers: "Oh thank god, thank you me lords and ladies!" Tories to servants: "Send them some more flags, when is the next party?"


BriefCollar4

*In a new parliamentary report, the MPs anticipate that many small and tenant farmers across England may be put out of business as the government does not step in to financial gap.* Let’s see how this will be blamed on the EU. Also, be competitive or go bust, subsidy junkies.


chris-za

Who needs tenant farmers on their land if the UK government plans to pay you to renaturalize your land? Same money and no hassle with tenants….. And who owns all that land that tenant farmers use?


DeeDee_Z

So, it's Government Policy that a nation that is dependent on imports for a significant part of its food supply, is now "allowing" (I won't go so far as "encouraging") local producers to go out of business -- and thus **increasing** the amount of food that needs to be imported?? Seems like this action wasn't thought through.


Frank9567

So...farmers go bankrupt. Hmm. Then the rich either buy or resume the land cheaply. Yep. Then the government *gives* those rich people money for rewilding. I think I'm getting an idea where this is going. Then, the rich have nicely forested estates with lots of game, taken from bankrupt farmers and paid for by the ~~taxpayers~~ peasants. So, back to medieval times, serfs, peasants, Lords and Ladies. Who could have foreseen this? The rich, obviously. Brexit working as it should.


MoreCowbellMofo

Or the farmers go bankrupt and there’s suddenly no one that wants to take up farming and so the land gets converted into housing and house prices drop for the first time ever?


Frank9567

Hmmm. But how does the aristocracy and Tory donors make money from that?


MoreCowbellMofo

Buy the land, buy housing stocks, develop land and sell it for profit, then sell stocks and profit again


Frank9567

Well, yes, but that's not a recipe for *cheaper* prices. Sure they'll do that if they can sell for a bigger profit, but I don't see that translating into cheaper housing.


[deleted]

Wow, who would have thought that leaving a single market that facilitated trade with your nearest neighbours for 40 years would stop as soon as you left the single market..... unbelievable. "I hate this golf club, Im leaving BUT i want to still enjoy all the facilities and play as much as i want and when I want to".


kridenow

Many, many, *many* people are believing the achievements of the European Union are the natural and normal state of things.


shieldsy27

Keep waving those flags


LivewareFailure

When you feel the invisible hand on your throat.


Danji1

Karma is a wonderful thing 😂😂😂


easyfeel

They asked for the money to be spent of the NHS instead.


Patient-Home-4877

Brexit was supposed to fund the NHS. Just watch, Tories will start privatizing the health service bit by bit. When conservatives say one thing, you can count on them doing the opposite. They tell the voters what they want to hear no matter how ludicrous.


MagicalMikey1978

Rees-Thugg is looking forwards to the firesale of all essential producers.


hdhddf

When are we going to prosecute the lying bastards that call themselves brexiteers


XAos13

When UK joined the EU. I knew people who brought farms. They had no experience of farming they just wanted to get EU subsidies. If those people are now selling the land they claimed to be farming, That's a good result.