Future of Fishing
Debate between Richard Tice and Caroline Voaden(2 weeks, 4 days ago)
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Caroline Voaden
I absolutely agree. Funnily enough, Brixham was quite a Brexit-supporting community. As a proud remainer, I had hesitations about Brixham as part of the constituency at first, but as I tour the constituency, I find it astonishing how many people in the local fishing community openly tell me that they feel betrayed and that they were lied to with promises that could never have been met. We must be honest about the challenges that have arisen and acknowledge that our departure from the EU has not yielded the benefits that were claimed.
Sadly, the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage), who seems to have strayed quite far from his constituency this week, failed to stand up for the fishing community when he apparently represented it in Brussels—he attended only one of 42 European Parliament Fisheries Committee meetings in three years. Far from the EU gutting the UK fishing industry, the industry did not have a chance of being properly heard during that time, because the hon. Gentleman was not in the room.
As we look towards 2026, we have a responsibility to chart a new course with the renegotiation that prioritises the interests of all our fishing communities. We need a strategy rooted in three essential principles: fair access, sustainable management and economic support for growth in the UK seafood sector.
We would all agree that we need fairer access to our waters. Under the trade and co-operation agreement, we will have a significant opportunity to redefine access to UK waters, although I fear that we are not starting from a strong position, given recent history. Access to EU markets is crucial.
Richard Tice
That is the key point; this is the moment for the great reset. We are in agreement: the hon. Lady rightly highlighted that many of the problems arose not from leaving the European Union but from the failures of the previous Government. We are critical of them for negotiating a bad deal and of civil servants for implementing it with unnecessary regulation. Would she agree that this is the opportunity?
Caroline Voaden
I agree that we have an opportunity to renegotiate, but I do not think that renegotiation will be successful if we start from the position that the EU is the enemy. We have to go into it with a positive mindset and be willing to co-operate with our closest neighbours if we are going to get any kind of resolution.