Keir Starmer is under fire from furious Brexiteers amid claims he’s ready to hand over more of Britain’s fishing rights to the EU in exchange for a defence pact. Reports suggest the Prime Minister could give Brussels a bigger share of UK waters to secure access for British defence companies to EU weapons contracts.
According to The Sun, insiders have hinted this is the “likely direction of travel” in ongoing talks, with one source saying, “If the choice is between a small industry like fish and a big industry like defence, the government should pick the big industry”, according to Express.
But the idea has sparked outrage. Jacob Rees-Mogg didn’t hold back, saying: “The EU ought to stop carping and pay us for defence while the government must not flounder by betraying our fishermen again.” Steve Baker also slammed the potential deal as a “lose-lose from Labour,” warning that defence is a major win for the EU and giving up fishing rights to get it would be a massive mistake.
“This is yet another lose lose from Labour, with the EU taking on both counts,” Baker said. “Further concessions on fish are a fundamental betrayal of our departure from the EU.”
Starmer has been working on a broader reset of the UK’s relationship with Europe, and a defence pact has been high on his agenda. But French President Emmanuel Macron has reportedly been pushing hard to link any defence deal with more favourable fishing rights for EU boats.
The clock is ticking too — the current fishing agreements under the post-Brexit trade deal are due to run out in June next year, putting even more pressure on negotiators.
Even some European leaders have questioned the link between fish and security. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas recently said: “I’m actually surprised at how important the fish are, considering the security situation.” European Council President António Costa also made his position clear earlier this year, saying the two issues “cannot be put on the same level.”
Despite the backlash, no official deal has been announced yet, but the backlash already shows how sensitive the issue remains. For many who backed Brexit, taking back control of UK waters was a major win — and any sign of that being given away again is guaranteed to stir up trouble.
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