Sir Keir Starmer is reportedly on the brink of agreeing a major trade deal with the European Union that would open the door for UK firms to sell billions of pounds worth of weaponry to European allies.
As reported by The Times, the agreement comes with significant concessions on fishing quotas in British waters, a move largely pushed by France.
The new deal is expected to freeze, rather than further reduce, the quotas for European fishermen, softening the UK’s previous stance on key stocks such as haddock, herring, and cod.
This shift has sparked criticism from British fishing communities, who see it as a blow to their industry, and has introduced unexpected complexity to the negotiations, with some EU diplomats expressing surprise at the prominence of fishing in the talks.
Responding to today’s Times article reporting that the EU and UK are close to an arms deal in return for concessions on fishing, Elspeth Macdonald, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, said:
“If true, it is ludicrous that the UK Government has caved in to French demands for a multi-year fisheries deal with fixed quotas, sacrificing part of the UK’s national food security for the production of bombs and bullets. We patiently set out our position directly to ministers, but it would appear they have chosen to ignore our views and Sir Keir Starmer looks set to become the third Prime Minister to sell out the fishing industry after Edward Heath in 1973 and Boris Johnson in 2020.
“We know that the public is very supportive of our industry here in Scotland, which is responsible for by far the largest share of catches in both volume and value in the UK, and this craven capitulation will be deeply unpopular right across the country but particularly in our coastal and island communities which depend on the sea for their jobs and future prospects. Rather than protecting the interests of our fisheries, as a government spokesman is quoted as saying, ministers are actively harming them.”
With fishing communities accusing the government of sacrificing national food security for defence contracts, and coastal leaders warning of lasting damage to local economies, the fate of the UK’s fishing industry now hangs in the balance.
