Mette Hinton

🚨 “Brexit, to me, never materialised.” The devastating verdict of Shetland fisherman Tom Robertson. He says Norwegian fishermen are laughing at British fishermen because they cannot believe how badly our fishing industry is governed. “We’re a laughing stock.” Norwegian vessels are catching hundreds of tonnes of fish in waters around Shetland while local fishermen struggle with restrictive quotas, soaring fuel costs and dwindling incomes. And the great Brexit promise? 🦄 Take back control 🦄 What an extraordinary humiliation. But here’s the point: Remainers warned this would happen. Fish don’t recognise national borders. Fishing rights require international negotiations. And access to European markets matters just as much as access to fishing grounds. The promises were never realistic. British fishermen were promised control of their waters. British farmers were promised freedom and prosperity outside the EU. Both were mis-sold a fantasy of sovereignty without the economic consequences. Now Norwegian fishermen are reportedly laughing at the very people who were promised Brexit would restore their power. Remainers weren’t predicting disaster because we wanted Britain to fail. We warned about it because we understood the consequences. The tragedy isn’t simply that Brexit failed to deliver. It’s that the warnings were dismissed, the promises went unfulfilled, and the people who made them have escaped accountability. You cannot feed a nation on Brexit slogans.

🙌 This is the sensible route: put a mandate to negotiate rejoining in Labour’s manifesto, secure the terms, then hold a confirmatory referendum. No guessing what rejoining might mean. Stop 🛑 pretending 2016 vote settles the question for all time. Let people judge the actual deal and have the final say. 🔗 in next tweet

🚩 The Sunday Times front page blasts out: “No £5bn EU rebate for UK.” But no British application exists. No negotiation has begun. No rebate has been requested or refused. Leo Varadkar has not been Taoiseach since 2024 and now advises a Washington-based corporate consultancy. Michel Barnier is also a former official. Their opinions are informed but they are not negotiating mandates from Ireland, the Commission or the 27 EU governments. The article turns Varadkar’s conditional “I think” into a categorical headline, manufacturing the terms of negotiations that do not exist. Why is Britain’s European future continually framed by former politicians predicting what cannot happen, rather than by asking current European leaders what could?

🔴 Labour has a huge majority. The real obstacle to a meaningful Brexit reset is whether this Government is willing to make the case for closer ties and negotiate a fair deal. If lower EU student fees are part of the package, spell out the costs and benefits. Don’t let this become another culture-war row about crisps. Make the case for what actually helps Britain.