Sir Keir Starmer has been warned Labour risks losing swathes of coastal constituencies if he buckles to Brussels’ demands on Britain’s post-Brexit fishing waters.
The Prime Minister, who last week hailed a £306million boost to Britain’s fishing fleet, is likely to come under pressure from EU negotiators to restore pre-Brexit frameworks during his attempt to “reset” cross-Channel relations.
A leaked document showed the EU hopes to snatch additional rights to the UK’s fishing waters in a move likely to provoke outrage from Eurosceptics and Britain’s coastal communities.
Despite feeling aggrieved by the deal conjured up by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, fishermen feel further concessions to the continental club would further decimate an already beleaguered British fishing industry.
Paul Lines, who has been a fisherman in Suffolk for more than half a century, told GB News: “I feel absolutely hurt and infuriated by the hand that’s been dealt to people who work the sea. Everything is stacked against us at the minute.”
Cornish skipper Bracken Pearce added: “We never gained anything from the Conservatives in the first place. What Labour should be doing now is looking at what they can get back from the EU.
Sir Keir Starmer with insets from previous Brexit fishing protests
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“If Starmer secures the six to the 12 (mile limit). That would be symbolic. That’s what everybody really wanted but they sound like they’re going to do the opposite.”
During the 2016 Brexit referendum, a fleet of fishing boats headed up the Thames supporting Vote Leave’s pitch to take back control of Britain’s fishing waters.
Ex-Brexit Party MEP June Mummery, who received 10,328 votes as Reform UK’s candidate in Lowestoft on July 4, hopes to channel similar sentiments if Starmer sells out on fishing.
“We’re not going to let them. We’re going to fight with the farmers. We’ve got to fight like hell,” Mummery told GB News.
Mummery, who is also the managing director of Lowestoft-based fish market auctioneers BFP Eastern, added: “Fishing has already been shafted and now they just want to come in and stick the knife in. But that’ll be it.
“He won’t get any coastal seats. He might as well kiss that goodbye because we’ll make that our mission. That’s 186 seats gone.”
Mummery also echoed concerns about Boris Johnson’s “diabolical” Brexit deal after around 90 per cent of fishermen were estimated to support severing ties with the EU.
Johnson secured meagre concessions from the EU on Britain’s coastal waters.
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After being ravaged by EU vessels for half a century, the UK managed to secure the phased repatriation of just 25 per cent of Brussels’ old quotas by value, well below the 60 per cent cut Johnson initially called for, and the cost of new paperwork brings further costs to coastal communities.
The Tories won 81 so-called “sea wall” seats in 2019 after Johnson vowed to “Get Brexit Done”, with just 24 voting Labour and another three being represented by Plaid Cymru MPs.
However, Starmer’s landslide victory completely breached the “sea wall” as Labour returned 67 out of the 108 coastal constituencies, with the Conservatives being reduced to just 19.
Plaid Cymru made one gain in Ynys Mon to take its overall total to four, with Reform UK snatching three seaside seats and the Liberal Democrats claiming a whopping 15.
A recent Nowcast polling forecast indicates that Reform UK would likely snatch an additional five seats if an election was held today, the Tories would bolster its ranks by 17 MPs, cutting Labour’s total by 21 and Plaid Cymru’s by an additional one seat.
And it would appear fishermen also believe that it will be at the ballot box where Labour will face fury if they concede further ground on Britain’s coastal waters.
Mummery said: “Reform’s the only party who actually cares about our waters, mother nature and our coastal communities.”
However, Lines and Pearce stopped short of suggesting fishermen would launch a flotilla protest.
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Pearce said: “I think people will talk about it but when it comes to it it won’t happen because you just can’t afford it.
“The economics of the fishing industry now, how it’s gone, with many factors, means people cannot afford that.”
He added: “You’re not going to get a dozen boats chucking fish heads or anything like that because we already did that and we didn’t get anything. The fishing industry is defeated, that’s the best word.”
Lines also claimed: “The trouble is now to get a demonstration you have to get a licence, get approval and most people are desperate to just keep doing the bloody work.”
However, Lines did suggest there would be efforts to mobilise fishermen if Starmer decides to buckle to Brussels.
“That’s what we will try to do but I don’t know how successful we’ll be at it,” he said.
British fishermen had decided to stage protests at other high points in the Brexit years, including during Theresa May’s EU negotiations in 2018 and after accusing Johnson of broken promises in 2021.
Despite facing fury from fishermen, the Tories also voice concern about Labour handing back fishing rights.
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June Mummery during a rally in Peterborough King’s Gate Conference Centre
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Speaking to GB News, Shadow Secretary of State Victoria Atkins MP said: “Having presented a Budget that punishes British farmers, Labour is now set to betray Britain’s fishing communities. They have decided to cede our fishing rights ahead of negotiations with the EU.
“The Conservatives negotiated increased quotas for British fishermen, and they mustn’t be given away. The Labour Government must not go cap in hand to the EU and risk our food security – which they’ve already jeopardised with their vindictive Family Farm Tax.”
A major seaside test for Labour could come in 2026 when Scottish voters can return MSPs to Holyrood.
Highlighting the challenge facing Labour north of the border, ex-Environment Secretary George Eustice told GB News: “Granting concessions on fisheries will also be very damaging to Scotland which is home to more than half of the UK fishing industry.
“It makes no sense for this Labour Government to throw Scottish interests under a bus at just the moment they have regained a political footing in Scotland.”
Holyrood opinion polls handed Labour a narrow lead over the SNP ahead of the 2024 General Election.
However, following a national slump in support, the SNP has re-established a double-digit advantage over Starmer north of the border.
And Aberdeenshire North & Moray East’s SNP MP Seamus Logan already appears to sense blood on the issue of fishing.
French fisherman Pierre Hagnerz prepares his boat for sea at the port of Boulogne, France
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Speaking in the House of Commons last month, Logan said: “The sea of disappointment that these communities have faced from the previous Government’s broken Brexit promises has cost them dearly, leaving the UK in a far weaker position to negotiate on fishing rights than when we still had a seat at the table in the European Union.
“These fishing communities are facing huge economic challenges due to the loss of freedom of movement, principally fish processors and perhaps to a lesser extent, the catching sector is facing labour shortages alongside new trade barriers erected by a Tory Brexit deal that was supported by Labour at the time.”
Eustice also shared some insight on the challenges of negotiating with the EU, stressing the impact concessions could have on Britain’s marine environment.
“While the UK consistently seeks friendship and goodwill, the EU always demands money, fish and the right to dictate our laws,” he said. “Their current demand is that the UK should tear up protections for the marine environment as the price of any new agreement, which would be an appalling, backward step.”
Deputy Director for the Conservative Environment Network John Flesher echoed fears about Brussels adversely impacting Britain’s maritime habitats.
He told GB News: “The EU has long opposed the UK’s attempts to protect our marine habitats.
“The last Conservative Government harnessed our Brexit freedoms to conserve threatened British wildlife, banning sandeel fishing to protect the native bird populations that rely on them from overfishing.
“It is clear that both the EU and the new Labour Government have plans to change the UK-EU relationship. Although it is too early to tell what exactly the fate of our marine protections will be, the EU is clearly extremely keen to put these conservation efforts on the agenda.
Fisherman prepares freshly baited lobster pots after landing crabs and lobster on his boat
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“The Labour Government must be careful not to make a foolish mistake and allow these environmental safeguards to be eroded. For the sake of the UK’s precious marine wildlife, ministers must make sure this red line is not crossed.”
The EU will likely hope to secure a more favourable fishing arrangement with the UK after Spanish trawlermen staged a two-day protest earlier this week.
Spanish fishermen descended on the European Commission’s headquarters in Madrid to protest against proposed cuts which would likely restrict the number of days at sea in the Mediterranean.
Despite concerns about Starmer buckling to Brussels, the Prime Minister last week claimed victory after striking a fresh deal worth £360million.
The accord represents an additional 15,000 tonnes next year compared to 2024.
Fishing opportunities for UK fleets in 2025 in the main negotiating forums total 720,000 tonnes, some 120,000 tonnes more than available as an EU member state.
Starmer’s Government is also keen to stress it has no plans to concede ground on the UK’s fishing waters.
A Government spokesman said: “This Government is resetting its relationship with the EU and wants to strengthen cooperation, to make people safer and tackle barriers to trade, to help drive economic growth.
“We have been clear that there will be no return to the customs union, single market or freedom of movement. The UK Government will always work to protect the interests of our fishers.”
