Trade unionists have taken aim at Andrea Leadsom for lacking a coherent strategy for the food industry as Brexit begins to take shape.

Trade union GMB, which represents food workers, was highly critical of Leadsom’s responses to questioning by Parliament’s EFRA committee on Wednesday afternoon. During a one-off evidence gathering session on the work of the environment department, she was unable to state whether Brexit would have an effect on food prices.

Under questioning from committee member and Penistone MP Angela Smith, the Environment Secretary couldn’t confirm whether the UK would be forced to use World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules if it failed to reach an agreement with the EU by 2019. Earlier this month the British Retail Consortium warned that tariffs on food and clothing could rise sharply, with meat increasing by 27 per cent if a good Brexit deal could not be struck by 2019

Ms Leadsom was a contender for leadership of the Conservative party (her withdrawal in July led to Theresa May becoming leader and Prime Minister) and a vocal advocate of Brexit ahead of the June Referendum.  

On Wednesday, Eamon O'Hearn, GMB National Officer said, “Andrea Leadsom has today utterly failed to explain what the Brexit she vocally supported will mean for the UK food industry or for shoppers feeling the pinch.”

“The lack of answers coming from the leading Brexiteer and now Environment Secretary will leave consumers, business and the hundreds of thousands of people working in this industry in limbo with an unpleasant taste in their mouths. Brexit is a huge threat to the viability of the UK food industry and requires a strategy to protect it - and it's now clear there isn't one."

“People need a guarantee that their jobs will be safe, that goods will not become too expensive and that workers' rights won't be eroded because of this Government's Brexit negotiations.”

GMB’s criticisms were aired just one day after the environment secretary announced a plan to target specific markets across 18 countries to drive up food and drink exports by almost £3bn at SIAL, the world’s largest food show being held in Paris.

However, these plans were blasted by leading food policy experts. Professor Tim Lang of the Centre for Food Policy at City University, London told Farming Online, “I worry sometimes that the Government just doesn’t understand the enormity of the food challenge. The new export drive might appear to be a recognition of the awesome £21bn food trade gap. But that’s been known for years, and has simply grown despite efforts to increase exports. The key issue is that the UK food system urgently needs to be recalibrated: more home production but only on sustainable lines. Particularly, more horticulture - to counter the vast imports of healthy foods while we export alcohol, meat, sweets (which are hardly ‘good’ exports). And above all to begin gently changing consumers eating patterns to come more into line with health and environment.

“Britain is parasitic on other people’s land and resources… So what Defra ought to be doing is to take a lead on how to integrate these complex issues. Simply exporting more ain‘t the solution. It’s old-style market thinking when we need ecological market thinking.”