'WHAT a shambles this Brexit fiasco is turning into.

One day, the Prime Minister is claiming that the Cabinet have – finally – reached an agreed position (not that it is one that is likely to be agreed to by the rest of Europe), the next there are Cabinet Ministers flouncing out the door, led by the (now former) Secretary of State for Exiting the EU, David Davis.

If there is any silver lining to this very dark cloud it is that Boris Johnson is no longer Foreign Secretary and I am sure that everyone involved in the NHS in England will be absolutely delighted to see the back of Jeremy Hunt.

It is an absolute disgrace that we are this far down the road and still there is no clear idea of where we are going to end up. The only reason we had an EU referendum in the first place was so that the Tory Party could try and address the tensions over Europe that were tearing the party apart. It didn’t work, the splits have become a chasm and the totally incompetent way in which the whole process has been handled is going to have a massive impact on jobs.

We have already seen in recent weeks stories in the press of soft fruit rotting in the fields because farmers have been experiencing a major shortage in migrant workers who no longer want to come to the UK because of the toxic atmosphere towards them and other immigrants.

Of course, it is not just in the berry fields that we will feel the effect of EU citizens deciding that they are not being made welcome in the UK. People from throughout Europe make an astounding contribution to our society, working in the NHS in our schools and in so many other walks of life and sectors of the economy.

On a brighter note – and, with the weather we have been having this summer, it is much, much brighter, - there has been no Brexit fallout affecting the great tradition of summer galas being carried on across the Kingdom. I do my best o get to as many as I can throughout my constituency and while I have not managed to get to all of them, I have so far enjoyed great days out in Cowdenbeath, Benarty and Crossgates.

A massive well done to all the organisers of these events and those who volunteer to help out on the day. A phenomenal amount of work goes on behind scenes and we are all indebted to our local community champions'.