Leaving the EU: Fisheries Management Debate

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Department: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Kelvin Hopkins

Main Page: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)

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Leaving the EU: Fisheries Management

Kelvin Hopkins Excerpts

Business of the House
Tuesday 20th March 2018

(6 years, 1 month ago)

Commons Chamber
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Michael Gove Portrait Michael Gove
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I enjoyed hearing again a quotation that I had heard a few minutes ago. Repeats from the SNP are quite something. More particularly, however, the hon. Gentleman’s question betrayed a misunderstanding of the principle of relative stability which underpins quota negotiations.

Kelvin Hopkins Portrait Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North) (Ind)
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I have suggested several times over the years, including in the Chamber, that only when all the fishing waters of Europe have been returned to their own countries will the fish stocks and fishing industries of Europe be saved, and that the UK must lead the way in that process. Will the Government now publicly urge the complete abolition of the common fisheries policy, which has been such an unmitigated disaster?

Michael Gove Portrait Michael Gove
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My admiration for the hon. Gentleman knows almost no bounds. He is right: the common fisheries policy has been bad not just for Britain, but for fish throughout the European Union. My only hope is that he will not only have an opportunity to see our shared ambition for a Britain outside the European Union fulfilled, but will be able to persuade socialist and progressive colleagues across the European continent to reform their own governance in a way that is genuinely liberating, as he has long advocated.

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