May warned by rebels to tear up ‘completely unacceptable’ fish deal
THERESA May has been warned that her Brexit transition deal will be voted down in the Commons unless she tears up her “completely unacceptable” proposals for fishing.
Some 14 of the Prime Minister’s backbench parliamentary allies – 13 Conservatives and one DUP MP – have signed a joint letter denouncing the draft deal agreed by the UK Government earlier this week.
Mrs May is hoping the transitional agreement will be signed off today at a meeting of EU leaders at the European Council summit in Brussels, clearing the way for crucial talks on post-brexit trade to begin in earnest.
But the 14 MPS, including leading backbench Brexiter Jacob Rees-mogg, said the proposal for Britain effectively to remain in the EU’S Common Fisheries Policy for almost two years after Brexit Day in March 2019, with no say over the allocation of quotas, would not command the support of MPS.
“These demands are completely unacceptable and would be rejected by the House of Commons,” they declared.
Two of the Conservative signatories, Aberdeen South’s Ross Thomson and Thanet South’s Craig Mackinlay, joined Mr Rees-mogg at the early morning riverside demonstration.
The Somerset MP accused Mrs May of making a “mistake” over the transitional deal, stressing how it was important the rules between Britain’s formal leaving date and the end of the 21-month implementation period did not have an unfair effect on the UK’S fishing communities.
“We hope that things will change. We need to ensure that we have a vibrant fishing community and we want to make sure that it survives to the end of the implementation period to benefit from our being free of the tyranny of the European Union,” said Mr Rees-mogg, who then walked off towards Parliament as the trawler, decked with a Union flag, docked at Westminster Pier. But the protest turned farcical as organisers had not secured permission for the boat to dock at Westminster.
On board, Nigel Farage, the former Ukip leader, who later helped throw fish overboard, said: “They told us they would take back control in 2019; that is not happening. We are now told at the start of 2021 it may happen. I don’t think this government has got the guts or the strength to stand up and take back our territorial waters.”
On Tuesday Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary, said he shared the disappointment of fishing communities over the delay in taking back full control of UK waters but he put this down to Brussels’ “intransigence”. He stressed there were “specific safeguards,” that Britain would be consulted over the December 2019 quota talks and its share would not be reduced.
Government opponents say the promise that Britain would take back control of its waters post Brexit Day had been broken.
Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister, accused Mrs May and her colleagues of a “massive sell-out”.