Quote:
Originally Posted by Carth
Considering many were complaining that the 'fishing issue' was a very minor point during the negotiations, it's strange how some of the EU fishermen are now annoyed at the deal struck . . maybe it wasn't such a minor point after all  |
Fishing was never a small issue. Everyone who obsessed over its contribution to our GDP missed the point. For us it wasn’t about GDP, it was about reasserting our sovereignty in one particularly visible area that was especially hard hit by our cack-handed entry to the EU, and moreover an issue that is of electoral significance to the Tories in several places, including northeast Scotland (witness how hard the SNP is trying to paint this as a bad deal - the northeast used to be their heartland but the Tories now threaten to make it theirs). It was also about playing one of our strongest cards well - the reason it has become so modest for us is because it has become rather more important for some of them. EU leaders repeatedly warned Barnier not to allow fishing to be the last issue on the table because they knew its importance. The EU side seems to have failed to achieve that.