Ruth Davidson, Leader of the Tories in Scotland and of the Opposition in the Scottish Parliament said last week “Britain will leave the CFP [Common Fisheries Policy] as of March 2019”, while Michael Gove had previously said that there would be “a specific transition period for fishing of nine or 10 months”.
But the draft terms of the Brexit transition deal show the UK government has agreed to abide by CFP rules for the whole of the transition period, which ends in December 2020.
A spokesman for The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation said:
“This falls far short of an acceptable deal”.
“Put simply, we do not trust them to look after us.”
Maree Todd said:
“It came as little surprise to learn that the Tories have – yet again – betrayed fishing communities across Scotland.
“The best predictor of the future is often the past. No-one has forgotten that our fishing industry was described as “expendable” during European negotiations back in the 1970s by the UK government.
“The Tories sold-out the Scottish fishing industry before, and they are doing it again – just as many of us warned they would.”
Fergus Ewing Rural Economy Secretary in the Scottish Government said:
Photo Scot Gov
“The Tories have sold out the Scottish fishing industry once again and Ruth Davidson should be shame-faced for her fastest broken Brexit promise yet.
“Now we know not only will the UK have to abide by CFP rules during the transition period, it will lose the voting rights it has now. The Tories have delivered the worst possible outcome for Scotland’s fishing industry.”
“It is outrageous that Ruth Davidson and Michael Gove could have issued such a misleading statement last weekend when they must have known what was about to happen – and they must both now apologise for their broken promise.
“The Tories have demonstrated once again that for them Scottish interests are expendable.
“They are so arrogant they now think they can do whatever they want to Scotland and get away with it.”