Today we will witness a historic landmark in Parliament as we debate the proposals to take back control of the fishing waters around the United Kingdom. This key bill - the first in forty years - is an important part of our Brexit legislation. Once law it will mean, we can ensure UK waters are managed sustainably so they are protected for future generations. More importantly, it returns the power to Britain to decide who can fish in our waters and how much they can land.
The inflexible and damaging European quotas, so hated by fishermen, will sink to the bottom of the North Sea. We are removing the automatic right of European Union vessels to fish in UK waters. Foreign boats will need a license to fish in UK waters and need to follow our rules. In short, we will determine which vessels can fish our waters, what they catch, and how many days in our waters they are allowed. We will resume responsibility for quota setting for each fish species in our waters. Bureaucrats in Brussels will no longer rule over our waves.
Unfortunately, Labour politicians dismiss this landmark Bill as a post-Brexit flag-waving exercise. Yet again, Labour demonstrates how out-of-touch they are with the British public. It is exactly because of the dislike and suspicion of restrictive practices like the Common Fisheries Policy that people voted to leave the European Union. This is a hugely exciting moment for the whole of the United Kingdom as we chart a new course in the world and I am pleased that I get the opportunity to vote in support of taking back control.