Fears Labour will 'sell out' UK fishermen to EU in Brexit deal stitch-up
EXCLUSIVE: Labour's failure to mention fisheries in their manifesto was a "massive insult" and a "kick in the teeth" to the industry, Tories have warned.
Labour will sell out British fishermen when the Brexit deal is renegotiated if Sir Keir Starmer gets into power, the Environment Secretary warned.
Former Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay’s intervention comes ahead of the UK’s deal with the EU coming up for discussion in 2026.
Part of the talks will involve a decision on access to the UK’s fishing waters and the quotas British fishermen are allowed to catch.
Tories fear Sir Keir Starmer will not be tough enough on Brussels and will sell out UK fishermen in a “cosy” agreement on his quest to “unravel Brexit”.
Mr Barclay said: “Labour’s failure to include a single word about our fishing industry in their manifesto shows just how little they care.
“Keir Starmer wants to unravel Brexit and will surrender our hard-won new fishing quotas to cosy up to Brussels if he gets into No10.
“Only the Conservatives will make the best of our Brexit opportunities and back our fishing fleets."
READ MORE: Labour blasted for having just 87 words on farming in entire 131-page manifesto [EXCLUSIVE]
Conservative candidate for Hastings and Rye Sally-Ann Hart, whose constituency contains many fishing businesses, warned Labour would “sell out” the industry and “cosy up to the EU”.
She said: “Labour could not care less about our fishermen. Where do they mention them in their manifesto?
“We have EU fisheries negotiations in 2026, and we need to make sure that we get back control of the 0-12 mile zone to ensure our inshore fishermen survive.
“Labour would not fight for our fishing fleets because they want to cosy up to the EU and sell out our fishermen. We need to love our fishermen first and sell the fish second.”
And Tory Connor Donnithorne, the fresh-faced 27-year-old running for the seat of Camborne, Redruth and Hayle in Cornwall, said Labour was “insulting” the British fishing industry.
He said: “Labour says nothing about fishing, which is a massive insult to the fishing community I work with every week. It is a kick in the teeth. “Labour fundamentally misunderstands what people in Cornwall want.”
Steve Double, Tory candidate for St Austell and Newquay, said it was important for the UK to “take a hard line” with the EU but feared Labour would not “stand up to” the bloc.
The UK and EU have rights of access for fishing in specific parts of each other's waters for qualifying vessels between six and 12 nautical miles from baselines set by the industry-standard fishery advisory body.
Mr Double argued it was vital for the UK to get the best deal possible for UK fishermen because “far too many foreign vessels” were currently allowed to take advantage of UK seas.
He said: “We are now approaching that five-year anniversary of when we will start to negotiate the Brexit deal including access to our waters.
“And the number one ask of fishermen I speak to is that we need better control over our six-12 mile waters.
“Far too many foreign vessels are allowed to catch fish in our six-12 mile limit and we really need to gain much better control of that.
“We need to take a harder line with the EU over our 12-mile fishing limit and have more control over the number of foreign vessels that are able to fish here.”
Mr Double pointed to how the Conservatives had backed fishermen by increasing their annual quota to £970million.
An EU deal secured UK fishermen access to opportunities of 130,000 tonnes for 2024, worth up to £340million.
A trilateral deal with the EU and Norway has opened up opportunities for 290,000 tonnes of North Sea stocks, worth around £360million.
These agreements were on top of 330,000 tonnes, worth around £270million, from catch limits on widely distributed stocks with coastal States in the northeast Atlantic.
The Cornwall native also praised the Environment Secretary for securing a new compensation scheme for pollock fishermen.
During recent fisheries negotiations with the EU, it was decided pollock could only be caught as bycatch in 2024.
Under the new Fisheries and Seafood Scheme hand-and-pole line fishermen of under-10m vessels, which includes some of those affected by the zero Total Allowable Catch for pollock, will be able to benefit from fast-tracked applications for a share of £6million in grant funding.
Mr Double said: “Steve Barclay really stepped up and provided that compensation for those who rely heavily on pollock for their income.
“It was an exceptional case. I do not think any government has done this before by compensating for a specific species in this way.
“So good on Steve Barclay for demonstrating that we really are on the side of UK fishermen.”
Mr Double went on to say it was “shocking” that in Labour's entire party manifesto, there was not one single word on fishing.
He said: “There was not a single mention of fisheries in the Labour Party manifesto or on the importance of our fishing fleet.
“Perhaps this suggests the fishing industry is not very important to them. That was a real dereliction from Labour. And there is a real concern about how robust a future Labour government might be with the EU.
“We need a government that is going to stand up to the EU and fight our fishing fleet’s corner to make sure we get the absolute best deal we can for the next time around.
“Certainly, if I am reelected I will continue to speak up for our fishermen, particularly our inshore fleet who often get overlooked.”
He went on to highlight how he was “really pleased” the Conservative manifesto made “absolutely clear” the UK’s inshore fishing fleet, which comprises predominantly the under 10m fleet, would “have much more say” and be “much better listened to” in future negotiations.
He said: “I have lived and worked here all my life. I understand how important fishing is to Cornwall because I have lived and breathed it and I have consistently shown that.
“I showed it by taking a stand for our fishermen in the last Parliament.”
Labour declined to comment.
