Shadow DEFRA Minister Dr Neil Hudson MP has warned the Labour Government its fisheries policy is “adrift”, urging them to change course or “see the industry sink on their watch”, thanks to the litany of poor actions they have taken since coming to office, during a recent major House of Commons Debate on the fishing industry.
The debate gave Dr Hudson the opportunity to hold the Government to account for actions such as its EU deal that fishermen’s organisations themselves have condemned as a ‘horror show’, economic decisions risking the future of coastal communities, and having no approach to improve the long-term issues threatening the industry.
Following our departure from the European Union, the previous Conservative Government secured the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which provided a transitory framework for fishing quotas for UK fishermen and women in EU waters until June 2026 and secured up to 785,000 tonnes, worth nearly £1billion in quota after 2024 negotiations.
Dr Hudson’s speech exposed the reality that the Government have locked the fishing industry into a poor deal with the European Union that imposes limits on UK access to waters and quota for twelve years, three times longer than the four years they originally planned for. This leaves the UK in a worse negotiating position on quota and access than nations like the Faroe Islands.
Worse still, the political intention of this move, to secure closer access to EU defence funding, was denied by the previous Fisheries Minister to Dr Hudson last year and the Government didn’t even manage to achieve this intention through agreeing to this poor deal.
Failing to build on the progress left by the previous Conservative Government in this deal, the encroachment of the EU into UK fishing was seen by the fact the Government had to reach agreement on technical measures in last year’s negotiations for the first time.
Dr Hudson likewise defended coastal communities against Labour’s economic choices that harm their lifeblood industries such as fishing, tourism and hospitality. Its Jobs Tax is placing employers in precarious positions, having to choose between pay freezes or not employing the new staff that they need, which the Government have compounded with a new Tourism Tax on overnight stays, directly threatening tourism in coastal areas.
The Labour Government’s attempts to address these failures also came under scrutiny, exposing its Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund, which provides only £25million for the industry in the 2026-27 financial year, a fraction of the total £360million Labour have said they will spend on the fund.
Concluding his remarks, Dr Hudson urged the Government to start attending to the long-term challenges that threaten the industry, such as the spatial squeeze from offshore wind projects that reduces the waters the fishing industry has access to, as well as the addressing the challenges that threaten the sustainability of the industry such as labour shortages and the dangerous nature of fishing, including mental health challenges.
You can see his speech in full at:
Hansard: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2026-01-22/debates/006F634F-DA13-4E90-B5BE-52C9626F148B/FishingIndustry#contribution-07B70868-703E-417F-B36E-5A61FE74B872
Parliamentlive.tv from 14:29:28: https://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/6505b0bb-e8a8-4e3e-8fc9-c25b5ea346ab#player-tabs
Following the debate in the Chamber, Dr Hudson commented:
“I welcomed today’s opportunity to express clearly that His Majesty’s Opposition stand with the fishing industry today and always.
The previous Conservative Government gave this Labour Government a proper chance to bolster our industry with our efforts.
Unfortunately, Labour have left the fishing industry adrift with their calamitous choices on the economy, the environment, and of course, their completely unacceptable EU deal giving away our fishing waters for 12 years
A change of course is needed without delay, or the industry will simply be another case of collateral damage caused by this incompetent Labour Government.”
