21/9/22.
Tonight I have sent a letter to my MP on the issue of Liz Truss (Prime Minister), animal welfare, the environment and international Free Trade Agreements (FTA).
Being simple, I am a little confused.
First, lets look back at the letter I had from the Department for International Trade (Dated 22/6/22) when I first wrote with concerns about animal welfare issues in the Australia – Uk Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Here are a couple of links which link which allows you read both my original letter of concern, and also the reply from the Department of International Trade (DIT), which forms the basis of my new letter of concern relating to the ‘Truss’ led government.
There appear to be many conflicts between what the DIT and the press (links given in letter) are saying about FTA’s. I hope I have expressed my concerns well enough in the new letter to try and explain this.
Past links:
England: WAV Write To UK Member of Parliament Over UK – Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA). – World Animals Voice
England: Response From UK Government Over Our Letter Of Animal Welfare Concerns In UK – Australia FTA. – World Animals Voice
So now the letter of concern has been sent and I await a response which I hope will be soon.
As always and as shown in the above links, I will be publishing a response on this confusing subject (?) when it comes my way.
For me, animal welfare and the environment are 2 issues which should be sitting right at the top of the UK government inbox. With Liz Truss working for Shell in the past, along with her record working at UK Defra Ministry (see letter); the environment and animal welfare are both subjects which seem to have vanished from her radar.
The electorate will decide if the environment and animal welfare are important in the lead up to the next UK General Election. Be assured, we will be doing our bit to keep the issues ‘up the tree’ right up until the next voting day.
Regards Mark
With thanks to our friends at ‘The Guardian (London)’ for the write ups in the following links.
Here is a copy of my (MP) letter dated 21/9/22.
Dear Mr Holloway;
You recently (22 June 2022) sent me a letter from Penny Mordaunt MP; who at the time was Minister of State for Trade Policy – at the Department for International Trade.
It related to concerns which I had for animal welfare in Australia – relating to the UK – Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
Ms Mordaunt, who I personally very much wished had become the PM, made several statements in her response.
Sheet 2 – “the government has made it clear in its manifesto that in all our trade negotiations, we will not compromise on our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards”.
She continues:
“As the PM (then Boris) has said, we are proud that we are global leaders on animal welfare
But, now Liz Truss has unfortunately become the PM, I am reading a lot of statements which contradict the above.
George Eustice (was Minster at Defra, now thrown out by Truss) says rival Rishi Sunak has made clear there will be no compromise on welfare standards
But…
Liz Truss has refused to enshrine animal welfare in trade deals, says minister | Animal welfare | The Guardian
George Eustice was speaking at the Conservative Environment Network Tory leadership hustings on behalf of Rishi Sunak, and said he faced “challenges” in trying to get Truss to enshrine animal welfare in trade deals.
Liz Truss has refused to recognise the importance of animal welfare in post-Brexit trade deals, the environment secretary has said.
So, Ms. Mordaunt says “the government has made it clear in its manifesto that in all our trade negotiations, we will not compromiseon our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards”; whilst new PM Liz Truss allegedly fails to recognise the importance of animal welfare in post-Brexit trade deals.
So Mr. Holloway; who is right and who is wrong ? – Mordaunt or Truss ?
The Green Party MP Caroline Lucas accused the pair of “bunking off”, adding: “Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak can’t even be bothered to take to a virtual Zoom stage for an hour on a Wednesday morning to discuss the greatest crisis we face.”
Eustice said: “To be fair to Boris Johnson despite him having many people around him saying ‘dial back the animal welfare, get the barnacles off the boat’, he did press on. This is something which I personally agreed with; unfortunately now, with Truss at the helm, times are a changing !
Quote – “the Government is committed to ensuring that any deal we sign includes protections for the agriculture industry”. It also states that “we have secured ground breaking provisions on animal welfare”.
So why is Liz Truss refusing to recognise the importance of animal welfare in post Brexit trade deals ?. The department for international trade say one thing to me in a letter response a few months ago; and now Liz Truss appears to want to kick these sae words into the long grass with her approach. Confused ? – well yes, sort of !
I am an animal welfare campaigner; and I am confused as to what exactly the current Conservative government policy is regarding animal welfare and future international trade deals; maybe you can clarify the situation for me, or maybe you are just as confused as the majority of people are ?
For me, my future vote will be cast on issues such as animal welfare and the environment rather than getting few hundred quid off an energy bill, which Truss seems to think will have the masses clambering at her feet – how wrong. It is time she woke up and considered animal welfare and especially the environment.
Personally, I consider the appointment of Truss as the PM to be one of the worst moves the Conservative Party have taken for many years. In just a few days, we have seen
Liz Truss shows little sign she is ready to meet big environmental challenges | Green politics | The Guardian
Many green campaigners remember Truss as the secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs from 2014 to 2016. Privately, they say she made little impact, other than to agree to cuts to the department’s budget that further reduced enforcement of environmental regulation, including of sewage polluting the UK’s waterways.
Truss appears to be handing out top jobs to all of her cronies and supporters, whist ignoring the campaigners and organisations who have provided evidence of their standings in so many important issues over many years including evidences when it comes to animal welfare abuses both abroad and in the UK.
The co-chairman of the Conservatives, who raised tens of millions of pounds for the party’s general election campaign, one Ben Elliot, resigned hours after Liz Truss won as PM.
Ben Elliot announced he was stepping down from the role leaving Miss Truss with the headache of trying to find a powerful replacement. Mr Elliot spearheaded the drive to amass a £56millon war chest in the run-up to the 2019 election, of which £23million was raised in the four weeks before polling day.
You could say that being in the sewage is something close to Liz Truss’ heart in many ways since she was (Defra) secretary of state from 2014 to 2016. Under her current premiership, she will drag the Conservative Party into the stench, and probably lose the next General Election with the ignorance and anti environment stance she takes. It is time for the Truss to wake up to the most important issues.
Regards Mark
Rees Mogg – a new appointment in the ‘Truss’ camp I believe:
Jacob Rees-Mogg opposes fur and foie gras ban as it ‘limits personal choice’ – Mirror Online
In 2014, Rees-Mogg was referred to the Parliamentary Standards regime after he repeatedly spoke in the House of Commons chamber in support of the oil and gas, tobacco and mining industries without first declaring that he was the founder and director of Somerset Capital Management, which then held millions of pounds worth of investments in those sectors.
Jacob Rees-Mogg’s Appointment Shows Truss’ Government Is Captured by the Hard Right – Byline Times
World Animals Voice 