Outputs

Preliminary Study Outputs:

• The following journal article was written by Sarah, Anna, Jesse and Rhys Dafydd during a preliminary study prior to the project beginning. In the article, we explore the relationship between rural spaces, migrants, national identity and Brexit. 

Rural Brexit? The ambivalent politics of rural community, migration and dependency 

• This blog was written for the London School of Economics' Brexit website and is based on the article we wrote. The blog discusses 'how the 2016 EU referendum vote reflects the social and economic changes in rural places and wider shifts in rural populations'. This is shared with permission from the LSE Brexit website. 

Don't forget the countryside: rural communities and Brexit 

• The blog below was written by Jess Heley. Jess reflects on the instabilities and challenges facing contemporary agriculture in the UK as well as setting out the context and connections to the project aims and intentions. 

Crops and crystal balls: The uncertain future of UK agriculture and the role for migrant labour

Ongoing ambiguity around agricultural support and farm labour coupled with the crisis in the Ukraine is generating ongoing uncertainty in the British countryside.

A little over 2 years past the point at which the UK left the EU single market and customs union, the impact of Brexit on farming, and the countryside more generally, is still unfolding.  Above all else, a strong sense of uncertainty prevails concerning the likely impacts of this seismic shift on rural landscapes, economies, and community life, as well as the role and likely experiences of migrants, migrant labour and refugees in the British countryside.  The focus of our ‘Rural Brexit’ project, this uncertainly reflects the ongoing political fallout of the leave vote, which is both reproduced and propelled by a media machine which remains somewhat preoccupied with whether the final vote was broadly pertinent or short-sighted, as opposed to setting out the path ahead.  However, the past few weeks have witnessed something of a shift in this regard, and there is a sense that some of the ‘nuts and bolts’ of the UK-EU relationship are being at least considered in some detail. 

On the one hand – and reflecting a degree of optimism surround the Northern Ireland Protocol – there is some positivity regarding the prospect of a workable resolution to the impasse around food and animal health checks.  On the other hand, there are growing concerns around the long-term sustainability of British agriculture in a post Common Agricualtural Policy era.  At the most immediate level, there are significant worries regarding a funding gap.  Here the amount of financial support being passed onto farmers through the incoming Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) is falling short of the mark in terms of replacing lost subsides.  Consequently, the ability of agriculture to function in the form of producing food and providing environmental stewardship has been called into question by the farming community; some of whom have seen this a betrayal of rural communities (or at least a lack of competence on the part of government).  

Certainly, the present situation in Ukraine has given poignancy to these commentaries for several reasons:  The sudden impact on food prices precipitated by the conflict has underscored the interconnectivity of global agriculture, wherein barriers to trade and disruptions in the flow of corn, wheat, and sunflower oil can suddenly limit what is on our plates, and rapidly raise the cost of our weekly shop.  At a very visceral level, the scenes of destruction created by the conflict have also reminded us of the value of our landscapes and villages, and the effort that goes into maintaining these.  That built over decades can be lost overnight.  It is also the case that human impact of the war has prompted the British public to once again reflect upon, and potentially revaluate, its relationship with migration.

Beyond the loss of many Ukrainian seasonal workers, the outpouring of support for Ukrainian refugees (and particularly children) is in sharp relief to the experiences and political characterizations of migrants arriving from other parts of the world, such as Afghanistan and Syria.  Moreover, it has also placed a spotlight on the UK’s ongoing demand for migrant labour and agricultural workers, many of whom have not been treated with the dignity and respect they deserve and should reasonably expect.  In early 2022, a report by the (then) UK anti-slavery commissioner, Dame Sara Thornton, highlighted the risk of exploitation facing agricultural workers form overseas, including discrimination and racism, the use of unsuitable housing and debt bondage. 

Dame Thornton’s report coincided with a significant expansion of the UK seasonal worker programme and a reorientation in recruitment. 40,000 visas were issued in 2022 (up from 2,500 in 2019), with the loss of access to the European Economic Area (EEA) labour market this programme has been promoted as a recruitment tool with global reach.  For example, British farms have hired labour extensively from south Asia, and Nepal in particular.  This avenue of recruitment, however, came to an abrupt halt in January 2023.  Mounting evidence that Nepalese workers were being charged excessive amounts by recruiting agents at home has led those UK based agencies licensed to bring in farm labour on temporary visas to stop recruiting from Nepal. 

Certainly, exploitation cannot be countenanced, and it is therefore appropriate the recruitment of oversees labour should be closely scrutinized and monitored, and this raises a series of interrelated questions concerning the future and shape of the countryside in the UK.  Considering widespread reports of crop losses because of labour shortages in 2022, the dictates of supply and demand must surely leave farm workers more able to secure better pay and conditions?  This is a reasonable assumption.  However, the lack of certainty among farmers regarding income streams, payments and – most crucially – the lack of a clear roadmap for UK agriculture at a policy level means that planning for the future remains an exercise in guesswork. 

Beyond farming, shared anxieties around the economic future of rural Britain is a central concern of our project.  On the one hand, the experiences of migrants and refugees in the countryside could become more challenging in some localities, with some communities becoming increasing destabilised and fractured. Here increased economic hardships, funding cuts and reductions in service delivery might well leave elements of society looking for those to blame, or at least reproducing ‘charity begins at home’ rhetoric.  Alternatively, the current question marks over farming futures might have positive implications for rural cohesion more broadly, wherein increased empathy and a growing appreciation of challenges which extend beyond borders and the urban-rural divide might well foster greater unity. In truth, it is likely to be a mixture of both with significant regional and local variation. Our project can hopefully shed some light on this emerging sociology. 

Jesse Heley, Aberystwyth University. March 2023