Good news for our bees with EU member states voting to suspend the use of neonicotinoid pesticides for two years.
The required majority for the suspension wasn't reached so the unelected EU Commission will have the deciding vote and is thought to be in favour of the suspension.
The UK voted against the ban despite a UK e petition with over 300,000 signatures urging Owen Paterson, the UK Environment Secretary, to bring in a ban. This highlights the lack of understanding in the UK of our subservience to the EU on most legislation. The UK has no authority to ban pesticides as it's an EU competence.
If the UK had the authority they wouldn't have banned neonicotinoids. Their policy would have been to 'wait and see' if the agents really were to blame. Wait and see until the bees are all dead maybe ?
Unsurprisingly BBC Scotland found an anti SNP angle to report on the ban and Jackie Bird said it was 'a blow' to Richard Lochhead the SNP Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Environment who also supported a 'wait and see' policy.
It wasn't 'a blow' for Owen Paterson or the Conservative / Liberal coalition who actually voted against the ban of course.
No, according to Jackie Bird of BBC Scotland ( pictured below) it was only 'a blow' to the SNP who had no vote on the matter.
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