A total of 16 Labour MPs could soon sell out Britain’s fishing communities if Sir Keir Starmer buckles to Brussels in a major Brexit betrayal, GB News analysis has revealed.
The Prime Minister, who is currently looking to “reset” cross-Channel relations, will enter tough negotiations with Brussels officials if he hopes to secure revamped trade terms with the 27-strong bloc.
A leaked document showed the EU wants to retrieve access to the UK’s fishing waters in a move likely to provoke outrage from Eurosceptics and Britain’s coastal communities.
“Britain must agree to offer the same rights to Brussels if there is to be a renewed deal on post-Brexit relations,” the leaked document said. “Any attempt by Britain to close fishing waters based on marine protection areas will be closely monitored by Brussels.”
The People’s Channel crunched the numbers to reveal the seats most at risk of the Prime Minister pulling the UK closer into the EU’s orbit, with fisheries, value and quantity all being ranked.
Out of Britain’s 32 top fishing seats, 17 voted Labour on July 4 – another six sided with the Liberal Democrats, two returned SNP MPs and only one backed the Tories.
Sir Keir Starmer with insets of Britain’s fishing industry
PA
A map of the coastal constituencies most likely to miss out
GB NEWS
Mid & South Pembrokeshire
Henry Tufnell, 32, found himself embroiled in a family row over Labour’s decision to axe Inheritance Tax relief on British farmers. Tufnell, who comes from a family of Gloucestershire landowner, hit the headlines after his family transferred valuable farmland to his 22-year-old brother just 20 days before Rachel Reeves made her controversial announcement.
Mid & South Pembrokeshire, which is already home to a number of farms, could also be left reeling from any concession on fishing. Similarly to the rest of the principality, 55 per cent of residents in the formerly named Preseli Pembrokeshire constituency voted for the UK to leave the EU.
The Welsh coastal constituency was potentially swayed by the town of Milford Haven, where 785 fisheries are located. Tufnell defeated former Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb by just 1,878 votes to win Mid & South Pembrokeshire on July 4, with Reform UK hoovering up 7,828 ballots.
Tynemouth
Tynemouth has been the home of Labour veteran Sir Alan Campbell since 1997. Campbell, who now serves as Labour’s Chief Whip, was returned with a mega-majority of 15,455 after the Tories made significant inroads in 2019. North Shields, one of Tynemouth’s major settlements, is home to 780 fisheries.
Plymouth Moor View and Plymouth Devonport
Both Plymouth seats would likely suffer at the hands of conceding ground on British fishing waters. The naval city is home to 647 fisheries, with its 4.7 kilotonnes catch bringing in £10.9million in 2021. Almost 60 per cent of Janners voted to take back control of Britain’s fishing waters in 2016, with constituents returning a split Tory-Labour ticket in 2019.
Former Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer lost to fellow former Royal Marine Fred Thomas by 5,604 votes, with Reform UK hoovering up 9,670 ballots. Plymouth Sutton & Devonport remains in the hands of Luke Pollard. Despite the Tories putting up a fight in 2019, Pollard romped to victory on July 4 as Reform UK leapfrogged the local Conservative candidate into second.
A trawler returns to the North Shields fish quay with its catch from the North Sea
PA
Hastings & Rye
Labour ended the Tory Party 118-year grip on Hastings & Rye in 2024. Helena Dollimore, who is just 30-years-old, defeated Sally-Ann Hart by a whopping 8,653 votes. Reform UK managed to make significant inroads but not enough for the right to unite and defeat Labour. However, Hastings did vote to leave the European Union and contains 567 fisheries.
Lowestoft
Just down the road from Reform UK’s Rupert Lowe in Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft is another Labour-held seat with a large fishing industry. Jess Asato, who is a member of the Labour Movement for Europe ginger group, defeated Tory Peter Aldous by just 2,016 votes, with Reform UK’s very own fisherwoman June Mummery ending up in third on 10,328. There are a total of 454 fisheries in Lowestoft, partly explaining why the local authority of Waveney voted by over 62 per cent for Brexit.
Great Grimsby & Cleethorpes
Great Grimsby & Cleethorpes is perhaps the first Red Wall constituency to make the list of seats impacted by backpedalling on fishing. There are around 378 fisheries in the town, with the value of the 3.7 kilotonnes totalling a staggering £7.8million.
Following a brief Boris Johnson led hiatus from Westminster, Melanie Onn returned to the House of Commons as the Labour MP for Great Grimsby & Cleethorpes on July 4. Despite Lia Nici winning as the Conservative candidate in 2019, the 55-year-old slumped into third place in 2024.
Reform UK will know Nigel Farage will need to snatch Great Grimsby & Cleethorpes to win the next general election. The populist party received 10,533 votes this year, putting them just 4,803 ballots behind Labour.
Poole
Labour republican Neil Duncan-Jordan couldn’t believe his luck when he snatched victory in Poole by a razor-thin 18 votes. With 7,429 Reform UK votes helping Labour in through the backdoor, Poole residents might now struggle if the town’s 361 fisheries get walloped by any Brexit betrayal.
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson talks to Ronnie Norquoy, owner of Celtic Dawn Fishing as crabs caught on the Carvela are brought in, at Stromness Harbour
PA
Southend West & Leigh
Essex might have emerged as a major Reform UK stomping ground on July 4, with Clacton and South Basildon & East Thurrock voting for the populist party, but five of the county’s constituencies are now represented by Labour MPs in the House of Commons.
Southend West & Leigh, formerly home of Sir David Amess, elected David Burton-Sampson with a majority of just 1,949. Reform UK received 8,273 votes, leaving the seaside seat on a knife-edge. Despite not breaking into the top 20 areas on fisheries, the quantity of catches in Leigh-on-Sea totalled 3.9 kilotonnes in 2021.
East Worthing & Shoreham
East Worthing & Shoreham MP Tom Rutland, who is a member of the Labour Movement for Europe, defeated Brexit veteran Tim Loughton by 9,519 votes on July 4. Conservative chaos and an insurgent Reform UK helped open up the coastal constituency to Sir Keir Starmer.
However, a large coastal community could be left reeling by any Brexit betrayal. The increasingly modernising seat voted for Brexit and with the value of 2021 catches from Shoreham-by-Sea hitting a staggering £13.9million in 2021 it is quite easy to see why.
Kingston upon Hull West & Haltemprice, Kingston upon Hull North & Cottingham and Kingston upon Hull East
The three Kingston upon Hull seats complete the Anglo-Welsh list with a massive shift back to the so-called Red Wall. Hull, like many other major cities located along the coast, brings in a vast amount of kilotonnes from its coastal waters, with the figure totalling £9.2million in 2021.
Labour MPs Diana Johnson, Emma Hardy and Karl Turner hold the three Hull seats. Despite being pushed close by Boris Johnson’s Tories in 2019, Reform UK were runners-up in all three constituencies. Turner saw off the populist party by just 3,920 votes, with Hardy’s majority sitting at 8,979 and Johnson’s standing at 10,769.
Scarborough & Whitby
If the ‘Workington Man’ won the 2019 General Election for Boris Johnson, the ‘Scarborough Woman’ proved decisive for Sir Keir Starmer on July 4. However, with 311 fisheries there could soon be some regret if the Prime Minister accepts Brussels’ demands. Alison Hume was the beneficiary of a chaotic Conservative Government, with the swing helping to bring in yet another Labour era to the glorious coastal towns. Hume defeated her Tory challenger by 5,408 votes, with Reform UK attracting support from 9,657.
Fishing boats take shelter from the heavy snow in Scarborough harbour
PA
Ayr, Carrick & Cumnock
Heading north of the border, Ayr, Carrick & Cumnock joins a small number of coastal constituencies which did not vote to leave the European Union. Despite a brief stint in Tory hands in 2017, Ayr, Carrick & Cumnock is now a Labour-SNP battleground. Elaine Stewart, who received just 36.5 per cent of the vote, defeated Allan Dorans by just 4,154 ballots.
Tory candidate Martin Dowey came in third on 9,247 and Reform UK hoovered up 3,544 votes. Ayr, which is a major settlement in the constituency, was home to some 316 fisheries in 2021.
Na h-Eileanan an Iar
Torcuil Crichton defeated the SNP’s Susan Thomson by 3,836 votes on July 4. Ex-MP Angus MacNeil, who has since joined Alba, raked in 1,370 votes, with Reform UK winning just 50 more votes than the Tories. The heart of the local fishing community is located in Stornoway, where there are as many as 290 fisheries.
Keir StarmerGB NEWSThe Liberal Democrats, who continuously lobby Labour to take more pro-EU policy positions, won six other major coastal constituencies: St Ives, South Devon, Mid Dorset & North Poole, Orkney & Shetland, Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross, and Inverness, Skye & West Ross-shire.
SNP-held Aberdeenshire North & Moray East and Argyll, Bute & South Lochaber join Tory-held Bridlington & the Wolds and Rosie Duffield’s independent Canterbury as seats adversely impacted by any potential coastal concession.
Strangford, South Down, Foyle and all four Belfast seats would also suffer financially in Northern Ireland, with the issue of fishing cutting across Unionist and Nationalist fault-lines.
Despite concerns about Starmer buckling to Brussels, the Prime Minister last week claimed victory after striking a fresh deal worth £360million.
The accord represents an additional 15,000 tonnes next year compared to 2024.
In total, fishing opportunities for UK fleets in 2025 in the main negotiating forums totals 720,000 tonnes, some 120,000 tonnes more than available as an EU member state.
Starmer’s Government is also keen to stress it has no plans to concede ground on the UK’s fishing waters.
A Government spokesman told GB News: “This Government is resetting its relationship with the EU and wants to strengthen cooperation, to make people safer and tackle barriers to trade, to help drive economic growth.
“We have been clear that there will be no return to the customs union, single market or freedom of movement. The UK Government will always work to protect the interests of our fishers.”
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