The Fishing Party was a political party in Scotland. Largely a single-issue party, their formation was prompted by those involved in the fishing industry angry at cuts in the amount of fish they were being allowed to catch as a result of the European Union Single Fisheries Policy. The rationale behind their formation was that they were in the best position to represent the fishing industry as they were part of it themselves.
There was speculation that this may result in the loss of vital votes for the Scottish National Party, as traditionally they have won the majority of the votes of those involved in the Scottish fishing industry. However the Fishing Party did not win any seats in the 2003 election. It got 5,566 votes (2.28%) on the regional list in North East Scotland. The best result was in the Banff & Buchan constituency, where the party polled 2,007 votes (7.7%). The party did not launch any candidates in the single-member constituencies.
The party has not been registered as a political party with the Electoral Commission since 2004 and is understood to be defunct.
Famous quotes containing the words fishing and/or party:
“A rat crept softly through the vegetation
Dragging its slimy belly on the bank
While I was fishing in the dull canal
On a winter evening round behind the gashouse
Musing upon the king my brother’s wreck
And on the king my father’s death before him.”
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)
“Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It’s that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that’s what the poet does.”
—Allen Ginsberg (b. 1926)