Agriculture is a very significant part of South West Wiltshire's economy
Agriculture is a very significant part of South West Wiltshire's economy and is now under direct threat. Many people within the constituency rely on the sector for an income to provide for themselves and their families. With the government's brinkmanship now playing out where they are threatening to renege on an international treaty that they themselves negotiated, campaigned on, said was "brilliant", was their "oven ready deal" and that Boris Johnson signed, this sector could be very badly affected.
If, as many believe the government's intention is to force the EU into a corner where they either agree to the rewriting of the treaty or are forced to put a physical border between the north and south of Ireland thus impacting the Good Friday Agreement, they are playing a very dangerous game.
It is unlikely in this scenario the EU will do that, but there are many things the EU will be able to do in retaliation for the UK breaking international law, not least the imposition of very high tariffs on agricultural exports from the UK into the EU.
Should this happen it would be dire for South West Wiltshire, yet the Conservative government appear to be happy to throw this constituency under the bus in order to appear tough to its more hard-line supporters.
Again we ask where is our Conservative MP, Andrew Murison? How is he defending our agricultural sector against such an outcome? His silence so far has been deafening on this matter.