Following a mini-reshuffle, Jeremy Corbyn has announced that Plymouth Sutton and Devonport’s MP Luke Pollard, has been promoted to become Labour’s Shadow Fisheries Minister with immediate effect.

Luke Pollard MP will take over from the Labour MP for Halifax, Holly Lynch MP, who is having a baby. Luke’s brief will include responsibility for Labour’s position on fishing as well as coastal communities, flooding, water and National Marine Parks.  Since being elected Luke has spoken in the House of Commons about fishing boat safety after the loss of two Plymouth trawlers in the last year where two people died. He has also called for more investment in lifejackets for fishermen, more quota for small fishing boats and for better enforcement of British fishing waters.

In November last year Luke launched the campaign to designate Plymouth Sound as the UK’s first National Marine Park. This campaign has now been backed by Plymouth City Council and UN Patron of the Oceans, Lewis Pugh, on his recent visit to Plymouth. After lobbying from Luke, the Labour Party adopted creating National Marine Parks as party policy. Luke has been a strong advocate of efforts to tackle plastic pollution and has backed the Plastic Free Plymouth initative.

Luke Pollard, Labour and Co-operative MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport said:

“Fishing is hugely important to Plymouth and to the far south west. It is a great privilege to be promoted to speak on fishing, water and coastal communities for the Opposition. Plymouth has world-class marine science and engineering skills as well as one of the most important fish markets in the country. This new role will give me a bigger platform to talk up our city and fight on our issues.”

 

“We need to get a better deal on fishing. The Government has already broken promises they made to the fishing industry and I won’t be letting Ministers get away with making grand promises they don’t keep. I am concerned that the interests of fishing communities are a secondary consideration for Ministers in the Brexit negotiations and it will be my job to hold Ministers’ feet to the fire to get the detail and deal fishing an coastal communities need.”

 

“As well as fishing I will be speaking for the Opposition on water and the marine environment. This role will also give me an opportunity to make progress on my campaign to designate Plymouth Sound as the UK’s first National Marine Park. This is already Labour policy and I hope to persuade Michael Gove to do the right thing and support it in Government too. I’m grateful to Jeremy for giving me the chance to speak up for coastal communities like Plymouth and our issues as a Shadow Minister. There’s a lot of work to do and I’m excited to get to work.”

NOTES

1. Luke was promoted by Jeremy Corbyn to be the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Sue Hayman MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in Summer 2017. This promotion sees Luke step up a role in the Shadow Environment team taking lead responsibility for fishing, flooding, water, the marine environment and National Marine Parks.
2. Luke was born in Plymouth and lives in Plymouth. He was elected as the Labour and Co-operative Member of Parliament for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport in June 2017.
3. The current Conservative Fishing Minister is Camborne and Redruth MP, George Eustice.