Tag Archives: Boris Johnson
‘I’m a fisherman and lifelong Tory who voted Brexit. I won’t vote for them again’
Fisherman James Stephen has been at sea for more than 40 years. Based in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, which is home to the largest fishing port in Europe, he voted for Brexit in 2016 in the hope it would give his community a greater share of fishing in UK waters. But eight years on, he feels he was sold a “pack of lies” and says it has cost the Conservatives his vote at the general election. “I would say that 99 per cent of the fishing industry would have voted for Brexit in the hope that we could get back control of our waters, rightfully get our share of [fishing] quota which was given away when we joined the EU,” says Mr Stephen. “I hoped, by voting for Brexit, we could undo some of the unjust that was done to the industry then. But for me, it’s been a total disaster. Nothing we were promised materialised.” Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:40
In a proud and troubled UK town, voters wonder whether their election choice will make a difference
“At the last election, I voted Conservative because Johnson promised our waters back, and lied through his teeth,” said Stan Rennie, a fisherman who has caught lobster off Hartlepool for five decades but says he can scarcely scrape a living anymore. “Because we’re the northeast, I don’t think the government even knows we exist,” he said. “We’re the forgotten land.” A proud, rugged town jutting into the North Sea 250 miles (400 kilometers) north of London, Hartlepool is scarred by industrial decline. The shipyards and steelworks that once employed thousands are long gone. The fishing fleet has been shrinking for years. In a 2016 referendum, Hartlepool voted heavily to leave the European Union, persuaded by Johnson and other Brexit-backers that quitting the bloc would let the U.K. control immigration and free up billions in cash for struggling communities. photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:56
Why do fishermen feel disillusioned after Brexit?
“I don’t think it matters who I vote for, they’re all lying,” said fisherman Dave Toy. He said it was not what he voted for and as a result he did not see any point in voting in the general election. Fishermen said they had wanted Brexit to deliver an increase in fish stock, but instead had got more paperwork. They cited the introduction of a mandatory catch app to record catches before they are landed, new vehicle monitoring systems, inspections and the requirement of medical certificates, which was later removed for existing fishermen. The government said the measures had improved both safety and fish stock management. Fisherman Graham Nicholas said life post-Brexit had been difficult. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:41
Fishy Business: How Brexit Failed To Help a Dying Industry
Brexit promised fishermen to take back control of the waters and get rid of foreign boats in British waters. But since the UK broke up with the European Union, little has changed. British fishing communities continue to struggle, as big companies, many of them international conglomerates, have bought quotas for the country’s most valuable species, controlling the price of the fish from sea to plate. Fishermen believed that the promised reforms, made possible by leaving what they saw as a restrictive European Union, would revive the national fishing industry, and with it bring back — at least to some extent — the prosperity of the past. They turned out to be empty promises. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:12
Review of the Byline TV documentary – Betrayed: The Big Brexit Lie
Up to 70% of voters in Grimsby supported Brexit because they believed it would usher in a return to the days when the docks effectively constituted a small town, complete with cafes, shops and banks. The trade was so lucrative, crews returning to land their catch would be known as ‘three-day millionaires’. A return to past prosperity is what politicians like Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage appeared to promise, with both taking advantage of photo opportunities to rally support at the daily fish market. Yet when the EU-UK trade and cooperation agreement was finally delivered, the betrayal became strikingly evident. Barry Deas of the National Federation of Fisherman’s Organisations declared the industry had been “sacrificed”, and Martin Boyers, CEO of Grimsby Fish Market described it as “… just rhetoric and broken promises”. The deal that Johnson and David Frost had negotiated had essentially made it much harder for British fisheries to sell into their largest market – the current accumulated trade deficit for the industry amounts to £1.7bn. >>click to read<< 10:26
‘We are at 50% of the quota we had’: boss of UK’s last long-range trawler rues ‘squandered’ Brexit hopes
Just hours after docking, the latest catch – about 300 tonnes of frozen fish fillets – has already been transported in Kirkella-branded boxes to the fish market at Grimsby, to be weighed, graded and sold. While this may sound like a vast amount of fish, the UK’s only remaining “distance trawler” has returned home only half-full from its latest expedition. “The catch wasn’t so good this time,” says the first mate, Dean Jackson, 53, who is finishing up checks of the vessel on the bridge before enjoying some time at home with his family after about six weeks at sea. “Fishing is erratic,” he says. “We had four days when it was really good. But the problem when you get really good fishing is you’re at the mercy of the factory and processing.” >click to read< 12:27
UK fishing industry gets green light to hire more overseas workers
Ministers have quietly agreed to allow more overseas workers to join the UK fishing industry, as the sector struggles with labour shortages and post-Brexit export regulations. Share fishermen, trawler skippers and deckhands on large fishing vessels are to be added to the government’s shortage occupation list, a scheme which allows UK employers to pay overseas workers about 80 per cent of the usual wage in certain industries. The opening of the UK’s doors to more overseas fishermen is a tacit recognition that Brexit has not generated the boom in the sector that had been promised by Boris Johnson and other Leave campaigners at the time of the 2016 referendum. >click to read < 07:52
‘A bloody lie!’ Boris torn apart over ‘take back control’ promise as UK fishermen rage
Boris Johnson has been branded a liar over his Brexit promise that the UK would “take back control” of its waters, with warnings the UK fishing industry is now “on its last legs”. The former Prime Minister, who pledged to “Get Brexit Done”, had promised to protect the industry before signing a trade deal with the European Union. The fishing agreement states there would be a five-year transition period that would see EU boats continue to gain access to UK waters until 2026. But June Mummery, the former MEP for East of England and founder of Renaissance of the East Anglian Fisheries, has launched a furious attack against Mr Johnson, claiming UK fishermen have been “stabbed in the back”. >click to read< 08:16
UK fishing industry ‘on its last legs’ as Tories accused of ‘betraying’ coastal towns
Fishing rights for EU vessels have proved to be a major bone of contention for the industry since leaving the bloc more than three years ago. Brexit fury has exploded after claims the UK fishing industry is “on its after legs” with Boris Johnson and the Tories accused of “stabbing fishermen in the back” over the deal with the European Union. The former Prime Minister had promised to protect the industry and insisted the UK would “take back control” of its waters before signing a trade deal with Brussels more than three years ago. The fishing agreement states there would be a five-year transition period that would see EU boats continue to gain access to UK waters until 2026. At the time, Mr Johnson admitted some concessions had been made in talks with the EU. >click to read< 09:43
UK fishermen feeling ‘widespread shock and betrayal’ at Boris Johnson’s ‘broken promises’
Brexit fury has erupted after UK fishermen raged they have been left with a “widespread feeling of shock and betrayal” while claiming Boris Johnson broke “promises” made to the industry. The former Prime Minister promises the country’s fishermen they would be protected in the event of any post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union, which was signed at the end of 2020. The agreement states there would be a five-year transition period during which little would change that would see EU boats continue to gain access to UK waters until 2026. >click to read< 08:12
‘I was lied to by Boris Johnson’: Why much of UK fishing is still waiting for a Brexit boost
Almost four years after Johnson promised the fishing merchant the French would be desperate to buy his fish, the business has seen sales plummet 30% and export costs rise by as much as £3,000 a week. Fish merchant Ian Perkes won’t forget the day he met Boris Johnson. It was 23 August 2019, and the MP, less than a month into his spell as prime minister, was on an unannounced visit to the south Devon fishing town of Brixham. It was a typically rumbunctious performance from Johnson, extolling the virtues of Brexit and the “huge benefits” it was going to bring to the UK, not least the folk of this small but important UK fishing town. >click to read< 08:08
Troubled Waters – British Fishermen and Brexit
More than two years after Brexit, British fishermen are angry. They were promised more control over fishing rights in British waters, but what they’ve gotten is reduced income. Many of them voted Leave, but now they feel they’ve been let down. The fishing industry overwhelmingly supported Brexit. Darren Kenyon is a fisherman from Grimsby in North East England. He believed in the government’s Brexit promises – including more control over fishing rights in British waters — and voted Leave. But two and a half years after Brexit, he feels betrayed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Kenyon’s income is lower than it used to be and there’s more red tape than ever. >click to read< 12:10
‘Boris, where’s your Russian sanctions?’ asks F/V Altaire’s First Mate
The first mate of local pelagic trawler F/V Altaire has written to prime minister Boris Johnson urging the UK Government to act over Russian factory ships fishing for blue whiting in UK waters around 100 miles to the west of Shetland. Colin Leask said there were 11 Russian vessels presently in the UK’s shared zone with the Faroe Islands fishing for a “ridiculously inflated” quota of 75,000 tonnes of blue whiting. The crewman’s appeal is the latest attempt by the industry to get the government to close a loophole that enables Russian vessels to fish inside UK waters at a time of “supposedly strict sanctions” against the country in response to the invasion of Ukraine. >click to read< 16:50
British Fishermen Feared Pro-Brexit Campaigners Would Betray Them—and They Did
Few communities in the United Kingdom were as supportive of Brexit as fishermen. Politicians pushing for the country to leave the European Union capitalized on the widespread perception that EU regulators favored fishermen from the continent over those from the United Kingdom when allocating fishing quotas. They promised that post-Brexit, UK fishermen would have unfettered access to domestic waters. Perhaps unsurprisingly, an estimated 92 percent of the UK fishing community intended to vote for Brexit in 2016. >click to read< 09:32
World’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm Grossly ‘Unprofitable’, Essentially Worthless
A new report commissioned by the Norwegian government contradicts Boris Johnson’s recent claim in Parliament that offshore wind costs have fallen by 70% in a decade. It confirms that the UK’s newest offshore wind farms remain high-cost operations. Indeed, the academics who produced the report have said the forthcoming Dogger Bank Wind Farm will be unprofitable, and is essentially worthless, with a value of around minus £1 billion in current terms. Remarkably, the findings have not been disputed by the developers. >click to read< 10:27
Great ‘Green’ Job Hoax: Only China Profits From Making Wind Turbines & Solar Panels
The promise of thousands of jobs building wind turbines and solar panels is a renewable energy mantra; there are – but only in China. China itself is building nuclear power plants and hundreds more coal-fired power plants, as if its economic livelihood depends on it. Meanwhile, in those Western countries foolish enough to attempt to run on sunshine and breezes, those few jobs that did materialise are fast disappearing. However, as laid out below, don’t expect any meaningful or lasting employment. Unless, of course, you’re a Uighur slave building solar panels in a factory somewhere hidden in China. >click to read< 12:26
Brexit, an “ocean of possibilities”? British fishermen mixed
A heavy weather warning was announced this weekend in the North Sea. Rain and wind are already sweeping Peterhead and its pink granite dwellings. Located in the east of Scotland, the UK’s largest fishing port in terms of fish caught sees its boats returning for shelter. Except Peter Bruce, who will stay at sea until the last moment. ” We use so much gasoline to reach the whitefish fishing grounds that it is not financially worthwhile to come back for six to eight days.”,,, While Peter Bruce usually fills his holds with 50 tonnes of fish, he sometimes has to make do with 35 tonnes. Particularly since the 1is January. >click to read< 14:53
Fishermen’s urgent plea to Boris Johnson over Brexit and funding
The government has set aside a £100million investment fund for the industry, and has promised to replace funding that came via the EU. Now the local fishermen, who number around 600, and the workers who depend on the industry, want to see Brixham land the money to safeguard the future of their historic industry.,,, Fishermen were some of the strongest supporters of breaking away from the European Union, convinced by the potential to take back control of the UK’s waters, and harvest more of the fish in them. But many now see the government’s trade deal and fishing agreement with the EU as falling far short of what was promised. >click to read< 08:55
Fishing Industry Urges Prime Minister To Support Industry After Brexit Fiasco
Scottish fisheries leaders have urged the Prime Minister to help them build back the industry after the bad Brexit deal, which left skippers battling for fishing opportunities while EU vessels continued to have full access to UK waters. At a business meeting in Fraserburgh, they asked Boris Johnson for action not words on improving prospects for the fleet in five years’ time when the arrangements are due to be revised. In the meantime, Mike Park, chief executive of the Scottish White Fish Producers’ Association, pressed Mr Johnson to order an independent review of the “flawed” science behind proposed quota cuts from ICES to key species such as cod for 2022. ‘As well as the lack of fishing opportunities, the industry is facing a spatial squeeze as offshore wind grows. >click to read< 10:33
Huge Displacement: The United Kingdom is ‘sacrificing’ it’s fishing sector for offshore wind farms
The government has been accused of sacrificing the fishing industry for a second time since Brexit in order to burnish its green credentials with offshore wind farm’s.,, Boris Johnson, last year said the UK had an opportunity to become “the Saudi Arabia of wind”, as part of a goal to become carbon neutral by 2030. But in an echo of Brexit political divides, fishing officials said on Wednesday the government had failed to carry out impact assessments or recognise the huge “displacement” that wind turbines at sea were causing the fishing industry. “What we seem to have is a government that is in thrall to the conservation lobby, and you can see why – there are green votes that are there,” >click to read< 11:26
Brexit: Deep and growing anger – “I cannot think of a single red line that was not crossed.”
Those were the words put to me by a senior figure in the fishing industry last week, a sentiment shared by fishermen across the country who feel betrayed by Boris Johnson. Indeed I cannot remember a time when I saw every sector of the fishing industry this despondent about the future. That is why this morning we are – together – challenging the government to change course. A year or two ago, you couldn’t find a harbour in the country that didn’t have a Tory politician standing on the deck of a trawler posing for pictures. >click to read< Brexit: Fishing industry faces ‘existential threat’ over export costs – Seafood firms have seen export costs “treble” in the six months following Brexit, leading MPs to warn that the industry now faces an “existential threat”. >click to read< 08:40
CRASH, BANG, SCALLOP! – Warships off the coast! French trawler rams UK boat as Jersey fishing stand-off escalates
Britain and France have both dispatched warships to the Channel island of Jersey Thursday amid concerns of a possible blockade of the island by French boats, a dramatic escalation in a row over rights to fish in the waters post-Brexit. >click to read< – French trawler rams UK boat – The British ship owned by Jonathan Ruff was hit by the French vessel Lasgot as he went out to sea as a blockade of French boats arrived near St Helier marina. Fisherman Josh Dearing described the appearance of the French boats, some letting off flares, as “like an invasion” and he welcomed the presence of Royal Navy ships in the region. video, photos, >click to read< CRASH, BANG, SCALLOPS – Jonathan Ruff’s boat was bashed in the stern by the French vessel Lasgot as he bravely went out to sea to face the group of 100 “invaders”. Video, photos, >click to read< 09:04
Betrayal – Brexit fishing deal ‘fell short’ of industry expectations, government admits
The deal signed by Boris Johnson with the EU on fishing after Brexit fell “short” of industry expectations,,, Speaking at a House of Lords committee on Wednesday George Eustice told peers that “it’s fair to say that we didn’t get everything that we wanted on fishing”. Boris Johnson previously hailed his fishing agreement as a success, but fishermen accused the prime minister of “sacrificing” them in trade talks and having “totally capitulated”. >click to read< 09:24
Boris Johnson’s Brexit Deal Under Fire From British Fishermen, More
Boris Johnson’s Brexit negotiations are being heavily criticised by UK fishermen who are faced with the possibility of going out of business, thanks to the terms of the Brexit fishing deal,,, >click to read<
Fishermen brand Brexit trade deal a ‘betrayal’ – new year may not bring the hoped for Brexit bounty for Scottish fishermen as industry leaders 
express their misgivings. >click to read<
EU crumbles as Irish fishermen turn on allies. ‘Macron got what HE wanted!’ – Irish fishermen have turned on their European allies over their English Channel access and quota allowances, arguing France got what they demanded in the post-Brexit trade deal with the UK. >click to read< 17:00
UK fishermen mock ‘laughable’ EU demand to extend Common Fisheries Policy for a year
In a statement this morning, Ms MacDonald made clear EU vessels landed 10 times more fish from UK waters than UK vessels do from theirs. It comes EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier stressed a trade deal between the UK and European Union was still possible Talks were extended on Sunday after Boris Johnson and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen agreed to continue the process despite major differences still remaining. For months, the talks have been deadlocked on the issues of fishing rights which have plagued fishing chiefs as well as state aid and the level playing field. >click to read< 11:59
Canada, Britain strike new trade, beating Brexit, incorporating expiring EU pact
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his British counterpart, Boris Johnson, announced the deal during a live video news conference on Saturday morning.,, Britain’s decision to leave the EU after its Brexit referendum means that the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA, will no longer apply to the country at the end of the year. The new deal preserves CETA’s key provision until a more comprehensive agreement can be reached later: the elimination of tariffs on 98 per cent of Canadian exports to Britain, which is Canada’s fifth largest trading partner with $29 billion in two-way merchandise trade in 2019. >click to read< 09:35
Fools and Other People’s Money: Offshore Wind Industry Bamboozles Boris With ‘Wind Power’s Cheap’ Myth
If 2020 demonstrates anything, it’s the herd-like behavior of governments. Italy responds to the Covid-19 pandemic with a lockdown, so the rest of Europe follows its lead, but for Sweden. Britain decides to go for net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050 without a clue as to how much it will cost, and much of the West, including Joe Biden, follows suit. Only New Zealand had the gumption to ask how much it might cost. Earlier this month, British prime minister Boris Johnson pledged that offshore wind, cheaper than goal and gas, he claimed, would power every home in Britain by 2030. Cheaper than gas? Boris got suckered. >click to read< 14:44
New Data Casts Doubt On Johnson’s Offshore Wind Scheme – industry has overestimated the technically accessible wind resource
The Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF) has written to the chairman of the Treasury Committee of the House of Commons providing new evidence for their inquiry into the Net-Zero target. The letter presents data from windfarm accounts showing that the wind industry has overestimated the technically accessible wind resource,, This new information shows that it will be necessary to introduce greater separation distances between wind turbines and wind farms, at greater costs. The letter draws attention to the evidence in the audited accounts of Burbo Bank Extension wind farm, recording payments made to another wind farm nearby, in compensation for reduced output caused by so-called “wake effects.” In effect, the Burbo Extension turbines have been taking the wind out of its neighbor’s sails. >click to read< 10:53
Jimmy Buchan warns no-deal Brexit ‘will hurt’ Scottish fishing industry
The warnings come just days after the final round of scheduled talks between London and Brussels broke off, with EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier accusing his opposite number, David Frost, of not showing “any true will” to reach a deal. Since the outset of negotiations the EU has demanded “status quo” access to UK waters, which would essentially mean a continuation of the common fisheries policy, something that has been categorically rejected by Boris Johnson. Jimmy Buchan, chief executive of the Scottish Seafood Association, told the Commons environment committee that, despite the differences, a deal must be done “no question”. >click to read< 16:57
British fishermen should be able to double their catch in UK waters under new deal with EU
The intervention has come as fishing rights look set to dominate the fourth round of talks on a post-Brexit trade deal with the EU. The country’s fishermen’s federations said they backed the UK Government’s uncompromising stance in ruling out any extension to the transition period, which ends in December, saying any further delay to leaving the hated Common Fisheries Policy[CFP] would only prolong the uncertainty that the sector had suffered since the 2016 EU referendum. >click to read< 12:48
Boris fires back at EU’s ‘wishful thinking’ amid fears UK ready to surrender on fishing – Boris Johnson’s official spokesman stepped in amid reports of a potential compromise agreement over future access to the UK’s territorial waters. Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, has signalled he is ready to give ground on his “maximalist” position that calls for the same level of access to UK waters as in the Common Fisheries Policy. The Frenchman could agree to a Norway-style fisheries treaty, with annual negotiations on quota shares and access,,, >click to read<
