Blame Nigel Farage for Brexit betrayal of UK fishing fleets – Yorkshire Post Letters

From: Peter Packham, Shadwell Lane, Leeds.
Is Nigel Farage to blame for the difficulties facing the fishing industry following Brexit?Is Nigel Farage to blame for the difficulties facing the fishing industry following Brexit?
Is Nigel Farage to blame for the difficulties facing the fishing industry following Brexit?

ALAN Carnall asked why British shellfish exports were acceptable to the EU in December 2020 but suddenly there was a problem (The Yorkshire Post, February 18). The answer is simple, Brexit happened.

The EU law that now stops British shellfish being accepted in the EU actually goes back to 2008. It was supported Britain and for 12 years it protected the British shellfish industry against cheap, inferior imports and secured their markets within the European Union.

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When Britain left the EU we lost that protection, became a third country and had to follow EU rules for non-members. This is what Leavers said they wanted, this is what Brexit means.

A fishing vessel moored in Bridilington's harbour.A fishing vessel moored in Bridilington's harbour.
A fishing vessel moored in Bridilington's harbour.

A further irony in this sorry situation for British shellfish producers is that the British MEP who was a member of the European Parliament Fishing Committee in 2008, and should have know the implications to the industry by leaving the EU, was none other than Nigel Farage.

From: Peter Brown, Shadwell, Leeds.

JAMES Bovington’s recent letter deserved a better response than it got from Gordon Lawrence (‘EU is firing a warning shot to deter any future dissidents’, The Yorkshire Post, February 19).

Mr Bovington was clear with both his facts and opinion: Bill Carmichael’s assertion that Ireland would quit the European Union and partner with the UK but for “emotional and irrational” reasons betrays an inflated sense of Britain’s importance. Which your columnist is not alone in displaying.

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Britain and Ireland have a troubled past. So why would Ireland want to abandon the EU in favour of its former colonial master, when young people and companies in Britain are worse off than their Irish counterparts – because of Brexit?

Mr Lawrence’s reply was unclear. A lot of negative, insulting words without explanation of how they relate to the EU or Mr Bovington’s letter.

From: James Bovington, Church Grove, Horsforth, Leeds.

I DISAGREE with Gordon Lawrence of Sheffield that the EU promotes piecemeal erosion of the sovereignty of nation states.

The EU acts only in areas where the individual states have instructed it, and no Eurosceptic has ever given an example otherwise.

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He is wrong to think that I have some naïve fondness for the EU any more than I might rejoice that Horsforth is controlled by Leeds City Council. But don’t underestimate the economic benefits – companies such as Jet2 are creations of the Single Market, as was the abolition of mobile roaming charges. Trade problems persist, as shown by the refusal of Liz Truss to answer to a Parliamentary committee.

Mr Lawrence must think that losing social, educational and cultural contacts is a good thing and that he approves of my grandchildren being deprived of the life-enhancing benefits of freedom of movement (retained by their Irish cousin)? Could he suggest a carrot that I can use with GCSE linguists who see little point in continuing to A-level because they can no longer spend an extended period of time in the country whose language they are learning?

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