Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch visits Bridlington to hear fishermen's concerns over EU trade deal

Accompanied by local MP Charlie Dewhirst and National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO) chief executive Mark Cohen, Ms Badenoch toured Bridlington Harbour and met local fishermen to understand their concerns about the new EU trade deal negotiated by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The deal has been met with anger by the fishing community, who believe it undermines the UK’s ability to protect its inshore fleet and gives unfair advantage to larger European vessels. Ms Badenoch listened to the fishermen as they voiced long-standing frustrations over lack of support, foreign competition, and restrictive regulations.

One fisherman told her: “Fishing has never been a priority. We got sold out 50 years ago and it's still happening. The French have massive boats and government backing—when have we ever been backed? People say we’re a small industry, but that’s because the government keeps us small.”

He added that the promised £360 million in funding to soften the impact of the trade deal wouldn’t reach working fishermen and questioned the future of the industry: “Why would I want my nine-year-old son to enter this industry with what we’re going through?”

Ms Badenoch expressed concern that the deal not only harms the present but risks erasing the future of UK fishing: “We’re not just losing the industry, we’re losing the ability to do it tomorrow. We’ll forget how to do these things and we'll end up farming it out to other countries.”

She criticized the 12-year term of the deal: “Keir Starmer won’t be around for 12 years, but he’s locked the fishermen into a bad deal for that long.”

Mark Cohen of the NFFO emphasized the practical challenges facing the local fleet. He pointed out the need for exclusive access to waters within 12 miles of the coast to protect smaller vessels from foreign competition.

Mr Cohen said: “You've got that situation where the smallest boats in the British fleet, who are working closest to home, are fishing against the biggest boats in the European fleet for the furthest from home, big 2428 meter boats, 1000 point horsepower engines, alongside little eight, 910, meter boats here, born sea all the way down the coast. They fish 24 hours a day, days at a time, in all weathers, and they're doing a lot to the ground.

“If we could move them out, we could have had space for the inshore fleet to slowly expand, but we didn't get that.”

Ms Badenoch later boarded the H37 Genesis, owned by Neil Robson, to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges at sea. Following this, Ms Badenoch visited the Independent Shellfisherman’s Cooperative and answered a number of questions from journalists.

Bridlington Free Press reporter Claudia Bowes asked: “How would the Conservative government help support coastal communities like Bridlington? Including both the fishing industry and tourism.”

Ms Badenoch said:“We need a new agenda. It’s hard to employ people. Things like National Insurance, jobs tax—these make it hard to earn a living. We want a lower tax environment so small businesses can thrive.”

She also promised to tackle excessive local regulations and inheritance taxes that stifle family-run businesses.

She said: “It isn't just fishermen, it's everybody. There's all sorts of things that we can do to make life easier for business.

“When we talk about business, people think we mean big business, multinationals and corporations, but actually it's family businesses. And I want people to see the Conservative Party as the party of business.”