A Tory minister has promised a future Conservative Government would provide “adequate” resources to police 海角视频 waters once Brexit,is sorted - but couldn't commit to building more fisheries protection ships.
Liz Truss, International Trade Secretary, on a fact-finding visit to Plymouth, said the Tories will “take back control” of territorial waters and dictate who can fish in them.
Ms Truss - who visited fishermen at the Devon city's Sutton Harbour, accompanied by Rebecca Smith, Conservative candidate for Labour-held Sutton and Devonport constituency - vowed Britain would provide resources to police 海角视频 waters after Brexit.
But there are only three fisheries protection vessels, and Ms Truss refused to say whether any more would be built.
She said there were “a variety of ways we can police our waters. One of them is using more advanced technology. One of them is patrol vessels. But we will make sure that is properly done.”
Asked if it was “a disgrace” that 80% of the fish we eat is imported, she said: “What I would say is that we’ve got a fantastic fishing industry, but the Common Fisheries Policy has not helped British fishing.
“We do export a lot of fish and seafood and there are lots of opportunities overseas to do more of that.”
Ms Truss said the British fishing industry was treated badly when Britain joined the EU, but that there were problems with the way the CFP operates. “We will not sell out British fishing. This is a very important industry in the South West. It’s also extremely important in Scotland.”
Labour responds
Luke Pollard, Labour candidate for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, said: “Fishing has already been betrayed by the Conservative government and the promises they’ve made.
“I expect that fishing access will be traded away by the Conservatives as part of the Brexit trade negotiations.
“There’s a really strong case for fishing to get a better deal and I want to see the government use the powers it already has to support small fishers – which is a majority of the fishing fleet in the South West.
“Labour’s policy is to redistribute fishing quota from foreign-owned multinationals to small boats.”
Labour would also insist that at least half of all fish caught under 海角视频 quotas are landed in a 海角视频 port.”
TV leaders debate - factcheck海角视频 row
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Ms Truss adenied Tuesday’s televised debate between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn was overshadowed by the row over a bogus fact-checking Twitter account.
During the ITV debate, a Conservative Party Twitter account was rebranded as “factcheck海角视频” – a move which has been criticised by the social me dia provider.
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Ms Truss said: “We ran a fact-checking operation to challenge some of the claims that Jeremy Corbyn was making. It’s very clear it had a Conservative headquarters Twitter handle.
“Jeremy Corbyn refused nine times to say he would support in a referendum he wants to have. I think that what people will take from it.”
EU trade - no deal off the table
Exeter and Plymouth do a higher proportion of their trade with the EU than any other city in the country, and this could be put in jeopardy by a no-deal Brexit.
Ms Truss insisted: “We are not going to leave without a deal. Boris has already secured a new withdrawal agreement. If we get a Conservative majority we’ll be able to leave with a deal.”
She insisted that the subsequent free trade agreement could be negotiated by the end of 2020 because of our existing trade with the EU, and other agreements the EU has already negotiated, such as the one with Canada.
The Department for International Trade was already renegotiating trade deals and had already “negotiated 70% of those”, she said. The biggest deal was with Korea, followed by the “South African Customs Union, so we’ve already done a number of the major economies. We are still waiting to do Canada. I’m hopeful we can make progress on that soon. Any trade deal takes two to tango, so the Canadians need to come to the table.”
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Ms Truss said Britain was beginning to rival the United States for inward investment.
“We’re already attracting more investment into our tech industry than France and Germany put together. We’ve got more investment coming in than any other country in the European area," she said.
“One of the benefits of leaving the EU is it will give us the opportunity to set our own technology policies, whereas previously that has been very strongly directed by the EU. They absolutely have a say over technology and tech regulations.”
Lib Dem position
Graham Reed, the Lib Dem candidate for Sutton and Devonport, said an EU investment of about £300,000 helped to build fish processing facilities in Plymouth, and the Lib Dems’ £50billion “Revoke Brexit bonus” would help to fund more of these investments.
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Business Live's South West Business Reporter is William Telford. William has more than a decade's experience reporting on the business scene in Plymouth and the South West. He is based in Plymouth but covers the entire region.
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Brexit Party says
Ann Widdecome, the Brexit Party candidate for Sutton and Devonport, said the fishermen all wanted Brexit, and denied that leaving the EU without a deal would result in tariffs.
She said she did not believe that her campaign would weaken the Conservatives in Plymouth because she was going after Labour votes.
“We need Brexit Party MPs in Parliament to keep Boris Johnson to the promises he has made. He’s quite good at saying one thing and doing another.”
Green Party view
James Ellwood, a filmmaker, is the Green Party candidate for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport.
The Green Party has said that Plymouth City Council’s Marine Park plan “is simply a branding exercise – we’ll ensure the plan also delivers improved environmental standards”.