Thread by @BestForBritain

Monday night, as Matt Hancock outlined the govt’s updated roadmap out of lockdown, someone was missing.

The PM despite a warning from Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, was instead feasting on Welsh lamb, Scottish salmon & Australian wine with Scott Morrison. 1/
bestforbritain.org/a_land_down_un…

The next morning both PMs announced they'd struck a new trade deal. It's Johnson’s first major international treaty since our European exit 5 years ago, if you don't count the copy/paste Japan deal carried over from what we had as an EU member.

But: nobody knows what’s in it. 2/

There's growing concern from UK farmers who fear they could be undercut by cheap imports & are worried by lower animal welfare standards on Aussie farms.

Aus contains 8 of the 10 world's largest farms, including the 5.8m-acre Anna Creek👇which is bigger than Israel. 3/

For context, Worthy Farm, in Somerset — which hosts the Glastonbury Festival each year — is around 900 acres, and has 430 dairy cows. 4/

Farmers are also permitted to use growth-enhancing hormones in cattle, practice “mulesing”, regular use of antibiotics to fight infections, as well as having access to a number of pesticides banned in the UK. Here's the full RSPCA list 👇 5/

After the govt forced a bill through last year which denies MPs the right to scrutinise trade deals, 24 MPs have written to Liz Truss demanding full parliamentary scrutiny.

@UKTradeBusiness will hold an extraordinary session to examine the deal. 6/
tradeandbusiness.uk/news/cross-par…

Johnson insisted British farmers would be protected by a cap on tariff-free imports for 15 years, but the Australian gov’s press release revealed this pledge has been dropped. It claims beef and sheep tariffs will be eliminated after 10 years, and dairy tariffs after five. 7/

The precise terms are anyone’s guess. But it's clear UK farmers have been well and truly forgotten about, a fact that won’t sit well with the British public.

Our latest polling showed 61% want the govt to prioritise farmers over new trade deals. 8/
bestforbritain.org/britishfarmers…

Today we're urging the govt to publish the exact terms of the deal so MPs, @UKTradeBusiness, experts & farmers can go back to the negotiating table, and to ensure any deal signed puts the people of this country first.

Ask your MP for the same👇/ENDS
hey-mp.uk/?c=ausfta