'It has been a disaster!' Fisherman blasts Brexit in scathing analysis: 'This has cost us dearly'
'Not what they promised!' Fisherman hits out at Brexit on fifth anniversary
GB News
A North Shields fisherman who voted for Brexit now says he regrets his decision, as the UK marks five years since leaving the European Union.
Andy Dixon of 55 fisheries told GB News: "Brexit has been bad. It hasn't worked out, as the Government promised.
"Locally here in North Shields, which all I can speak about, it's been a bit of a disaster."
Dixon, who manages langoustine exports to Europe, said he would now change his vote if given the chance.
The fisherman said he would now change his vote if given the chance
GB News
His comments come as the fishing industry continues to grapple with post-Brexit trading challenges.
Dixon detailed how Brexit has severely impacted his business through increased bureaucracy and costs when exporting seafood to European markets.
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He said: "In the main legislation, red tape documentation is just 100 fold of what it used to be. And this is purely when you're exporting product.
"The North Shields fleet here target Langoustines. The main the market for your langoustine is France Spain and Italy.
"From the moment Brexit happened for three or four months, we couldn't literally send anything. You're dealing with a product that has a four or five day shelf life, and once we manage to to go, I think it was April of the same year or four months later, the costs that hit us then still remain now.
"This is this is ultimately costing the fishing fleet somewhere between 30 and 50 pence for every single kilo of prawns langoustines landed today.
He explained that it is costing the fishing industry
WikiCommons"We believe the UK has the best langoustine, it's the sweetest flavoured. But we're not only talking about langoustine, there's crab and there's lobster and all these things that where the markets are, are best in mainland Europe. It's costing us dearly. It's costing the fishermen dearly."
He explained: "I was a Brexiteer and I voted mainly because of of the red tape surrounding the UK industry in North Shields, if you phoned the authorities in the past, prior to Brexit, Brussels got the blame for everything.
"Nobody could answer your question. Whether it was on a fish size, mesh size, gear, anything legislation, it was Brussels.
"That was my main thought that if we move away from Europe we can decide and set our own destiny. And nothing's changed on the legislative side and we've just been affected by cost. If I could I would change my vote to remain in a heartbeat."
Just 30 per cent of Britons now believe Brexit was the right decision.
GB News
New YouGov polling released today shows support for leaving the EU has fallen to its lowest level since the 2016 referendum.
Just 30 per cent of Britons now believe Brexit was the right decision. The poll revealed that 55 per cent of people think leaving the EU was wrong.
Even one in six who originally backed Brexit are now experiencing regret about their decision.
This marks a significant change from the 2016 referendum, when 51.89 per cent voted to leave versus 48.11 per cent who voted to remain.
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