Why Scottish fishermen see Keir Starmer as the new Boris Johnson

Keir Starmer and Boris Johnson have gone down in British fishing history as two of the three Prime Ministers to 'betray' the industry (Picture: Toby Melville/WPA pool) | Getty Images

“The third Prime Minister after Edward Heath and [Boris] Johnson to betray the industry.” If you were looking for a summation of the feelings towards Keir Starmer from the Scottish fishing fleet this week, you could not do much better than this from Elspeth MacDonald, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation.

It is not hard to see why. Fishermen were hoping for a reset after the incompetence of the previous Tory government in protecting their interests. Instead, Keir Starmer’s government has rolled over current arrangements for fishing until 2038. I fear that Labour have not yet grappled with the sense of betrayal that is building in fishing communities as a result.

Perhaps we should not be surprised, however, given that in his evidence to the parliamentary committee that I chair this week, UK Cabinet minister Steve Reed seemed to think that this was in fact a “reasonably good deal for the UK fishing sector”. This is, to put it mildly, not an entirely universal opinion along the coastline of the United Kingdom.

Keir Starmer and Boris Johnson have gone down in British fishing history as two of the three Prime Ministers to 'betray' the industry (Picture: Toby Melville/WPA pool) | Getty Images

Fishing’s preferred outcome

Mr Reed also believed that yearly negotiations – the default status to which we would have reverted next year under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement – would have been “very damaging” for the industry.

That would be news to fishing organisations themselves, who said from the start that yearly negotiations were their first preference as an outcome, as it would give maximum leverage over quota going forward – and that this leverage should only be conceded in return for a higher proportion of quota in the long term. It can be challenging to negotiate successfully when you do not even know your own side’s interests.

Criticism of this agreement is not hard to come by – though it often seems to come from those who have a pretty poor record of understanding or standing up for fishing interests. Nigel Farage, of Reform, condemned the deal from a safe distance while on holiday in France – no doubt the local poissonniers appreciated his custom. We should not really be surprised given that, when I led a debate on the fishing industry in Parliament last year, not a single Reform MP could be bothered to show up.

Tory mistakes won’t be forgotten

The Tory response was even more brass-of-neck, given that Starmer’s deal on fisheries replicates exactly their own cackhanded agreement of 2020 – they must think fishermen have short memories indeed.

It is precisely their own mishandling of negotiations five years ago which has given Labour political cover to make the deal that they did. Now the stench of Boris Johnson’s bungled 2020 agreement will linger over us for a generation.

If there is a silver lining to this dark deal for fishermen, it will be in reduced red tape for trade and some stability for key export markets in the EU. Those meagre gains, however, are still far from the ‘sea of opportunity’ that was offered in the past.

Fishermen are past tired of false promises from parties which use our coastal communities as political props, to be abandoned when they are no longer convenient. Keir Starmer may not make quite as bombastic an impression as Boris Johnson did, but the sense of betrayal amongst fishing communities is burning just as fiercely.

Alistair Carmichael is the Scottish Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland