Political relations between UK-EU

[Metal Biker]

I don’t imagine they were consulted in the dying embers of negotiations

Remember this is coming from one who once said;

We already sell to Europe. Most of what we catch goes to Europe. We don’t eat what we catch. Personally I don’t care about fishing.

and

For what it’s worth the more frothing on both sides about fish, the more likely there will be a compromise that both sides can paint as a win. The real ball game is LPF/state aid and governance. Fishing is emotional and sexy and a bit of a diversion.

 

[BobKowalski]

In a population of 67,000,000, 12000 work as fishermen and that has been steadily decreasing for decades.

And only a percentage of those 12000 are in trouble now.

We’ve seen single companies put more people at risk of redundancy than the amount affected in the Brexit fishing debacle, in the last 12 months, due to Covid.

Let’s get some perspective here.

The fishing industry was totemic for the Leave campaign, it was used as a symbol of the great things that could be achieved with Brexit.

That it got fucked over and the people who were championing it now avoid it like it was a box of rotting cods head, means it’s going to get a lot of attention.

If it was so important before the referendum and if it was so important during negotiations, indeed it was one of our genuinely strong cards, then how come we ended up with a deal that screwed us over, is a reasonable question to be asked.

 

[blueparrot]

Two issues are being conflated.

The ‘fishing is 0.1% of our GDP’ issue was largely about quotas and the Common Fisheries Policy. That issue was resolved on the basis of a reduction over time of the EUs access to U.K. waters. The argument was that this sacrifice - continuing to allow EU access to U.K. waters - would be justified by securing a good deal on (eg) services (though we didn’t actually get that).

What is currently killing the fishing industry is not their ability to land fish, or the level of the EUs access to our waters, it’s the U.K. fleet’s inability to sell its catch to the EU. That is because there are now barriers to U.K./EU trade which did not exist previously.

That’s the point and if fish was the only sector effected we ‘d probably live with it. It isn’t and as more businesses open up and try to recover after lockdowns, we’ll discover more businesses find themselves damaged by the deal we have agreed.

 

[metalblue]

Two issues are being conflated.

The ‘fishing is 0.1% of our GDP’ issue was largely about quotas and the Common Fisheries Policy. That issue was resolved on the basis of a reduction over time of the EUs access to U.K. waters. The argument was that this sacrifice - continuing to allow EU access to U.K. waters - would be justified by securing a good deal on (eg) services (though we didn’t actually get that).

What is currently killing the fishing industry is not their ability to land fish, or the level of the EUs access to our waters, it’s the U.K. fleet’s inability to sell its catch to the EU. That is because there are now barriers to U.K./EU trade which did not exist previously.

The last paragraph is the nub of the problem. The deadline for a deal was fast approaching, a deal was done without the due diligence such a deal demanded.

 

[Kazzydeyna]

I presume your job or business isn’t put at risk by a shit deal then, well done.

That's nice of you chap. Cheers

 

[BobKowalski]

It certainly demonstrates the hypocrisy of the white,affluent, privileged Remain crowd. No concern whatsoever for the fishing industry during the campaign. Indeed such was the contempt these working class lads and lasses were held in by Captain Geldof and his ilk, Cap’n Bob and his fellow chaps saw fit to hire a motor craft at considerable expense for the purpose of sailing it down the nations busiest river simply to use this as a way to call these hard working, concerned fellow citizens Wankers and tell them to Fuck Off on national television.

That was the priority. That was the best use of his time and his money - much of it earned from the tragedy of black families dying of starvation - He didn’t use that surplus cash to donate to a soup kitchen, he didn’t use it to help out a local charity. No, he used his surplus cash to tell working class people “you’re wankers” and “fuck off” Simply because they disagreed with his view of the world.

That was also the moment when millions of other working class people realised, in full HD, exactly what the suburban set actually thought of them.

That was the moment that hit home.

That was the moment the referendum was won for Leave.

That was the moment our country was saved.

You can take your fake concern for people you wouldn’t ordinarily piss on if they were on fire. They know you don’t mean it. They know you really think they are wankers and are beneath you. They have memories. So do I. And on June 23 2016 I used that memory in the voting booth.

Working class solidarity won. Affluent privileged sneering lost.

Thank you. You and yours made the case for Leave far better than the leave campaign could ever have dreamed of doing themselves.

And the fishing industry got fucked over, so, aside from venting your obsessive class resentment, what exactly is your fucking point?

How does putting up trade barriers, fucking up export trade and people’s livelihoods or kicking British kids out of Erasmus help anyone of any class?

 

[Chris in London]

That’s the point and if fish was the only sector effected we ‘d probably live with it. It isn’t and as more businesses open up and try to recover after lockdowns, we’ll discover more businesses find themselves damaged by the deal we have agreed.

True.

As a nation, we’re a bit better off for being able to land a greater proportion of the fish in U.K. waters without running the risk of over-fishing.

As a nation, however, we sell much more than we eat. We are probably going to be much worse off for introducing non-tariff barriers to trade between the U.K. and its biggest export market.

 

[Ban-jani]

The fishing industry was totemic for the Leave campaign, it was used as a symbol of the great things that could be achieved with Brexit.

That it got fucked over and the people who were championing it now avoid it like it was a box of rotting cods head, means it’s going to get a lot of attention.

If it was so important before the referendum and if it was so important during negotiations, indeed it was one of our genuinely strong cards, then how come we ended up with a deal that screwed us over, is a reasonable question to be asked.

And those who were saying how unimportant it was, as an industry, are now going on like its life or death for the UK economy.

I was and am consistent, it’s unimportant in the grand scheme of things and whilst it’s sad for the few people who it’s affected, the impact on the economy is nearly nil.

 

[Ban-jani]

It literally did; in this or its immediate predecessor that was locked on NYE.
And yes I'm fine.

Good, glad to hear it.

 

[west didsblue]

The last paragraph is the nub of the problem. The deadline for a deal was fast approaching, a deal was done without the due diligence such a deal demanded.

Correct. It should have been front and centre of the discussions. The fact that it wasn't is a clear demonstration of the ineptitude of Johnson and Frost.