Old manifesto now sounds a little fishy

Date: 01/05/1997

A word of advice to a potential incoming Labour government: do not make categorical claims about any aspect of European policy - it is in the nature of fickle British Euro-politics that they will come back to haunt you.

It is, for instance, intriguing to look back now on what the Conservatives said in their 1983 manifesto about the Common Fisheries Policy, which has done so much to reinforce Euroscepticism in the weeks before this week's general election. “We have successfully negotiated a Common Fishing Agreement that provides British fishermen with the greatest advantages in our waters in the industry's history. For the first time since we joined the Community, we now have effective conservation measures and can look forward to expanding, rather than declining, stocks of fish,” it declared.