We WILL take back control of fishing in 2021 insists Gove
‘Keep our eyes on the prize’
MICHAEL Gove tried to calm Tory MPs who are angry over concessions to the EU on fishing rights yesterday by insisting Brexit would deliver a great ‘prize’ for the industry.
The Environment Secretary said he was disappointed with the terms of the UK’s agreement, calling it ‘sub-optimal’.
But he argued that at the end of the transition period, the UK would become an ‘independent coastal state’ and take back control of fishing for the first time in 40 years.
In effect, Monday’s agreement keeps Britain in the EU’s common fisheries policy for an extra year after Brexit, until the end of 2020.
On Monday, Tory chief whip Julian Smith dismissed fishermen’s concerns, telling furious Conservative MPs with coastal constituencies to accept the deal because ‘it’s not like the fishermen are going to vote Labour’. A delegation of Tory MPs went to No 10 yesterday, urging Theresa May to ensure fishing was not sold out in the final Brexit deal. In the Commons, backbenchers lined up to criticise the agreement yesterday. But Mr Gove, who has previously called for fishing rights to be returned to the UK immediately after Brexit in March next year, said they should keep their ‘eyes on the prize’.
He said: ‘There is disappointment in fishing communities.
‘I know, as someone whose father was a fish merchant, whose grandparents went to sea to fish, I completely understand how fishing communities feel about this situation. I share their disappointment.’
But he added: ‘There is a significant prize at the end of the implementation period, and it is important that all of us in every area accept that the implementation period is a necessary step towards securing that prize.
‘For our coastal communities, it is an opportunity to revive economically. For our marine environment, it is an opportunity to be managed sustainably. It is critical that all of us, in the interests of the whole nation, keep our eyes on that prize.
‘In December 2020, we will be negotiating fishing opportunities as... an independent coastal state, deciding who can access our waters and on what terms for the first time in over 40 years.’ Under the deal, the EU will fix fishing quotas in British waters during the Brexit transition period. Brexit Secretary David Davis said the share for British boats would not fall.
But some Tory MPs warned they could block the final deal, while others voiced their anger. Scottish MP Douglas Ross said: ‘There’s no way I can sell this deal as anything like a success to fishing communities.’
John Lamont said he and fishermen across Scotland felt ‘very badly let down by this deal because we’re not going to be taking control of our waters as quickly as we had hoped’.
Former Cabinet minister John Redwood said: ‘We voted to take control of our fish, our money, our borders and our laws.’
THIS paper well understands the frustration of fishermen over Monday’s compromise, under which Brussels will continue to set catch quotas during the transitional period to full Brexit.
True, many will argue that after half a century of taking orders from the EU, another 21 months’ wait for control of our own waters will make little difference. Some will draw comfort, too, from Brussels’s promise that it will not cut the UK’s share of fishing rights in the meantime.
But by venting their anger now, supporters of our fishing industry send an important signal to politicians – on both sides of the Channel – that any long-term sell-out over this vital issue is unthinkable.
When Britain joined the EU, the then prime minister Ted Heath traded British fishermen’s jobs for the illusory European dream. They must not be betrayed again. IN his first speech after taking responsibility for social care, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has shown a heartfelt grasp of the injustices afflicting the elderly and vulnerable – from punitive bills for dementia patients to rushed home visits from a ‘rotating cast’ of carers. Yes, it will take time and money to put the system right. But this is an encouraging start to tackling one of the fastest growing social crises of our age.