Will The U.K. Fishermen Get Shafted?

[WBA123]

Well the fishing industry is shafting other UK industry at the moment so why not..

As has already been alluded to fishing is worth 0.1% of our GDP. For every £1000 our country earns, the fishing industry makes £1.

Brexit puts many other industries at risk, financial services is our largest industry sector worth around 22% and manufacturing is next worth around 17%. For every £1000 we earn, almost £400 comes from those two sectors. So we are risking close to 40% of our GDP on those two industries alone, for the sake of the 0.1% fishing industry. Its crazy economics.

A couple of other things to note. The UK fishing industry exports the vast majority of their fish to the EU. So leaving the EU won't help the vast majority of UK fish exporters because we're increasing trade barriers with the EU.

When you negotiate a trade deal, you negotiate access to each others markets. This is how every trade deal works in the world. If we're too inflexible to give access to our 0.1% GDP fishing industry, then why should we give access to any other of our industry? Trade deals are about negotiation, bargaining power and geography. If our fishing industry is so valuable to European fisherman, then we should be able to negotiate something substantial in return. You don't just get access to other markets without giving something, these are basic rules of negotiation.

And finally, my main gripe about Brexit is 99.9% of people who have an opinion on issues like this are not qualified. And I have great experience in international trade & supply chains, economics and EU law, but I include myself in that too. Trade negotiation is a serious skill set and our negotiators really need to know the complexities of every industry and commodity. As well as the financial and environmental pros and cons of giving access to our industry to other countries. What we instead get is politicians who have little to no idea about international trade, posturing over an industry which relies on the single market and is worth relatively very little to our economy in comparison to our other more profitable industries, which it risks.

[Yarmbaggie]

To be fair 123 most people will have an opinion and that is their right.

That said I basically agree with most that you have said, except of course I couldn’t possibly comment about your own experiences. For me we need to compromise to get a deal done. A lot of our fishing industry exports go to the EU anyway so I can’t even see that a No Deal and increased tariffs and red tape would be a great result for the fishing industry anyway.

Let’s get a deal done that benefits the important part of the UK economy.

[WBA123]

To be fair 123 most people will have an opinion and that is their right.

That said I basically agree with most that you have said, except of course I couldn’t possibly comment about your own experiences. For me we need to compromise to get a deal done. A lot of our fishing industry exports go to the EU anyway so I can’t even see that a No Deal and increased tariffs and red tape would be a great result for the fishing industry anyway.

Let’s get a deal done that benefits the important part of the UK economy.

Absolutely, its everyone's right to have an opinion. And for an election I completely agree we may differ opinion on the main candidates and party's.

My gripe with the referendum was in my mind it should really have been all about international trade. And the reason Leave won is because they made it about other issues like immigration, the 2nd World War, failing Tory domestic policies and funding our NHS. Many things which really have no impact on being in the EU.

When it comes down squarely to international trade, should we put it to public opinion? This is something the vast majority of the country know very little about and is extremely complex to understand.

It's a bit like having an referendum on the best method NASA should be using to launch their next rocket into space. Or on how a doctor should perform open heart surgery. These decisions should be left to appointed experts. Just my two penneth...

[kettering_baggie]

Well, there’s probably no point in revisiting the arguments for and against Brexit, it’s too late and as far as I can see now, it’s a case of damage limitation. As with many things in recent years, we have been badly let down by substandard politicians, populists that have managed to get the better of the more pragmatic but uninspiring politicians. The country has been hoodwinked by the likes of Johnson, Gove and especially regarding Brexit, bloody Farage.

[Albionic68]

Fk it. May as well return to an absolute monarchy with local issues dealt with on a regional level. Let business men run the country out of the kindness of their hearts in their spare time and sack all the MPs and professional politicians off.

We can eat what our men of the waves catch and save a fortune in MP salaries and expenses, whilst avoiding the hassle and bullshine of electoral campaigns and broken promises.

We'd probably be happier and healthier too as we wouldn't be eating as much red meat and chlorinated chicken would be forever off the menu.

We could convert the Houses of Parliament to affordable homes for Londoners via inscrutable, profiteering temporarily UK based foreign developers who can then maintain them freely forever.

I'm liking the sound of this already. God save the Queen, here's hoping she can reign eternally so that sausage fingered jug eared chappy doesn't get near the throne. He'd have us all eating grass, talking to plants and shagging trees. Probably.

[kettering_baggie]

Fk it. May as well return to an absolute monarchy with local issues dealt with on a regional level. Let business men run the country out of the kindness of their hearts in their spare time and sack all the MPs and professional politicians off.

We can eat what our men of the waves catch and save a fortune in MP salaries and expenses, whilst avoiding the hassle and bullshine of electoral campaigns and broken promises.

We'd probably be happier and healthier too as we wouldn't be eating as much red meat and chlorinated chicken would be forever off the menu.

We could convert the Houses of Parliament to affordable homes for Londoners via inscrutable, profiteering temporarily UK based foreign developers who can then maintain them freely forever.

I'm liking the sound of this already. God save the Queen, here's hoping she can reign eternally so that sausage fingered jug eared chappy doesn't get near the throne. He'd have us all eating grass, talking to plants and shagging trees. Probably.

Having a good day, are we?

[Albionic68]

Having a good day, are we?

Sound thanks Mike. This morning was my best for some time to be honest and I've still got the pub to look forward to later, cheers for asking. I hope all's well with you and yours. The above was purely tongue in cheek. Stay safe chap.

[kettering_baggie]

Yes, thanks, I’m OK but things a bit difficult at the moment as my wife is ill; had loads of tests but nothing found. Last week she displayed some Covid symptoms but a test came back negative, fortunately. The week before last I met up with Geoff in a pub for some lunch, have to make the effort to stay in touch!