Sir Keir Starmer has claimed a victory in his Brexit reset, striking a fishing deal with the European Union which the government estimates to be worth £360m.
Following negotiations with the EU for 2025 fishing quotas, the UK has secured 150,000 tonnes of fishing opportunities - 15,000 tonnes more than in 2024 – ministers announced on Wednesday.
They said the deal amounts to £360m in fishing opportunities for British fishing fleets and highlights “all parties’ continued commitment to manage fisheries sustainably”.
Fishing rights were a constant source of tension following the UK’s exit from the EU, with Britain and France finding themselves in a stalemate on the issue under Boris Johnson in 2021 after dozens of French boats were denied fishing licences for UK waters and France threatened to block ports to British vessels.
But Sir Keir has attempted to reset relations with Brussels after years of tense relations under successive Conservative administrations.
The latest agreement follows the UK’s trilateral agreement with the EU and Norway last week, which secured UK fisheries 290,000 tonnes of fishing opportunities in the North Sea and surrounding waters.
This is on top of 280,000 tonnes, estimated to be worth around £240m, from catch limits agreed earlier in the year on widely distributed stocks with coastal States in the northeast Atlantic.
In total, this brings fishing opportunities secured for the UK fleet in 2025 in the main negotiating forums to 720,000 tonnes – which the government claimed was up to 120,000 more than it would have as an EU member state.
Fisheries Minister Daniel Zeichner said: “Through these sets of negotiations this government has agreed deals securing quota for stocks totalling up to £890m for the UK fleet in 2025.
“This is another example of how we are delivering on our Plan for Change, boosting our British fishing industry by supporting the lifeblood of many coastal communities.”
Sir Keir’s attempt to improve relations with the EU post-Brexit has seen him meet with leaders from across the continent during his five months as prime minister, as well as becoming the first UK leader to attend a French Armistice Day ceremony since the Second World War.
The Labour leader has promised that he will fix Britain’s damaged relations with the EU for the benefit of “generations to come”, as well as pledging to renegotiate the Brexit deal agreed by Mr Johnson.
However, he has faced criticism for not going far enough with his attempt to fix relations after repeatedly rejecting plans for a youth mobility scheme agreement to allow under-30s to travel and work more easily between the UK and EU.
Former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine previously told The Independent that a “failure to contemplate this is a part of the conspiracy of silence that has denied the British people a proper understanding of the disaster of Brexit.”
A first hint of compromise on the issue emerged this week after Nick Thomas-Symonds, who will be leading the Brexit reset talks next year, indicated to peers that the government could be open to agreeing to such a scheme dependent on the proposal brought forward by Brussels.
He told the Lords’ European affairs committee: “It’s for the EU to finalise proposals it wants to put on the table. It depends on what precisely you mean by youth mobility.”
