PML Seafrigo is a logistics company specialising in refrigerated transport (the PML in the name stands for Perishable Movements Ltd). Brexit has cost them and other transport businesses involved in importing and exporting of foodstuffs to Europe a small fortune in changing processes, building new facilities and recruiting and training staff. After Starmer’s recent 'reset' the government is planning to offload various border posts like the one at Sevington, near Ashford in Kent with the taxpayer’s multi-million-pound investments simply being written off. Private firms have no such benefactor and shareholders will ultimately bear the cost of doing the same thing.
Sevington was designed to process up to 1,300 lorries daily, primarily for sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks on products like meat, dairy, and plant-based goods. It opened a year ago, built at a cost of £154 million. All that will be superfluous once Starmer's deal is negotiated and implemented.
The CEO of PML Seafrigo, Mr Mike Parr, is not happy about it. He has been interviewed by Motortransport for an article headlined: Border reset “makes mockery” of Brexit investment. It’s an extraordinary interview.
He said: “During this period, businesses in the supply chain associated with the fresh produce industry have put a huge amount of time, effort – not to mention significant financial investment - to establish appropriate protocols within the new Brexit trading landscape.
“Producers, logistics suppliers, industry stakeholders and government representatives attended countless meetings to work towards a solution which would allow a fair and seamless transfer of produce into and out of the UK.
“To say this has been a difficult road to travel is an understatement. The challenging number of U-turns, the persistent failure to listen to those working within the sector, the inability to meet deadlines, the constant whitewashing to suit each government’s agenda, I could go on."
He was upset about the new and much-delayed controls first coming in when they were finally introduced in April 2024. He told The Grocer at the time, that they would lead to higher prices and less availability and could impact efforts to improve the nation’s healthy eating habits. Now, he's furious that they’re being lifted!
His complaint isn’t just about all the effort and the unnecessary expenditure, but also the lack of firm plans about when the latest changes are expected to take effect.
Mr Parr said:
"We also voiced our concerns regarding the absence of a definitive list of produce classified as Medium Risk, the lack of clarity regarding the Common User Charge and the unacceptably long evaluation of the pilot Authorised Operator scheme.
"And now the Prime Minister has acted unilaterally to reset the rules. Without consulting the nation. Whatever your political persuasion, the fact remains that Brexit was the choice of the UK population, this maverick behaviour is inconsistent with the notion that Britain is a democracy."
Whatever complaints can be levelled at Starmer, acting 'unilaterally' isn’t one of them. The changes were clearly signalled in the 2024 Labour manifesto which said if elected Labour will "work to improve the UK’s trade and investment relationship with the EU, by tearing down unnecessary barriers to trade. We will seek to negotiate a veterinary agreement to prevent unnecessary border checks and help tackle the cost of food."
I don't know what PML Seafrigo thought that meant, but most people took it to mean costly border checks and delays would be circumvented. Instead of blaming the prime minister, Mr Parr should blame Brexit. He doesn't sound like a remainer to me ("Brexit was the choice of the UK population") and I expect he voted in favour of it.
Leaving the EU was supposed to be about future British governments being able to make decisions free from Brussels diktats. On this occasion, a democratically elected government has decided to ‘reset’ our relationship with the EU. They were very clear about it before the election and won a majority. Now they're implementing the policy. It's not difficult.
His frustration is part of a growing mindset about Brexit. That it was a historic mistake but one that cannot be corrected. The costly new border checks were part of that, and having spent the money we must all now learn to live with the consequences of higher prices and delays forever. It really makes no sense to me. In their own lives, Brexiteers would never act in the same way.
If you make a mistake, you try to put it right as soon as you can.
The notion that the 2016 referendum was the only truly democratic vote in British history is a persistent one, as if it can never be reversed and Brexit is our lot until the end of time. I think there is quite a bit of misunderstanding going on here.
Some might suggest it’s likely that a future Reform or Tory government, perhaps in coalition, could even reject Starmer’s commitment to align with EU food standards and reinstate UK border SPS checks. This is one of the consequences of Brexit, having the freedom and ‘flexibility’ to do whatever the ruling government wants at any time means living with uncertainty forever.
One of the criticisms of the EU by Brexiteers was that it was so slow to make and implement decisions, and it’s true that getting 27 or 28 national governments with competing needs and pressures to agree to anything quickly is difficult. But on the other hand, the decisions tend to be more logical, or let’s say less ideological and crazy, and the rollouts are known about years in advance.
Across the Atlantic, Trump is showing what it’s like when decisions on trading arrangements are made on the fly, by capricious men who have no idea what they’re doing. Tariffs are on one day and off the next. Trump threatened a 50% tariff on the EU last week and postponed it this week. OK he is close to insane and it’s an extreme example, but the impact of uncertainty is to chill business investment.
Industry likes certainty, they like consultation before decisions are made, they like a clear and predictable regulatory framework and they prefer long lead times to prepare for changes. The EU is good at all of these things and the longer Brexit gets in the way, the worse it will be.
Uncertainty is the new certainty, for now.
