EU 'Brexit' campaigns clash on River Thames
LONDON — The U.K. Independence Party weighed anchor here Wednesday in an elaborately staged event to convince Britons that they should vote next week to leave the European Union.
A flotilla of more than 30 fishing boats with reporters aboard sailed up the River Thames to Britain's Parliament at Westminster on a blustery day with banners, colorful flags and foghorns to protest what the anti-immigration party says is the EU's failed policy on fishing rights.
"Save our fish" and "sold down the river" were two popular slogans. The publicity stunt was one of many both sides are deploying as the June 23 referendum on whether to remain in the EU or leave it nears. Polls suggest a close vote.
The remain camp says continued membership brings economic, social and security benefits. The leave camp says a "Brexit" — British exit — will give Britons more say over sovereign issues such as immigration, the economy and defense.
Earlier in the week, Leave EU tweeted a poster that appeared to warn that if Britain remained in the 28-nation alliance it could see a shooting like the one that killed 49 people in Orlando on Sunday. The tweet, which showed a poster of Islamic State militants wielding guns, was later deleted. In March, Vote Leave, another group favoring an exit published a list of murders and rapes committed by 50 EU criminals in Britain.
In another publicity stunt, Vote Leave is offering $71 million to anyone who correctly predicts the results of all the games in the Euro 2016 soccer championship taking place in France. It says the figure is the amount of money Britain spends on its EU membership every day. Britain's Statistics Authority says the correct figure is about half that.
UKIP claims the EU's fishing policy — which allows, for example, Spanish fishermen to fish in British waters — has caused the loss of tens of thousands of British jobs, decimated a once-thriving industry and led to harbors up and down the British Isles without a single commercial fishing vessel.
"These are communities that have been devastated," said UKIP leader Nigel Farage told reporters aboard a vessel named The Edwardian. "They are here today ... to say, 'Look, we want to take back control of our seas, we want to get jobs back in this industry.'"
"It's a disgrace. The common fisheries policy stops us taking advantage of our own natural resources, and we are the only country in the EU this is happening to," Ray Finch, UKIP's fisheries spokesman, told Paste BN as The Edwardian was preparing to get underway. "It's like the French having to share their Champagne rights or Greek's their olive oil."
UKIP's flotilla was met on the Thames by a rival group of boats filled with campaigners opposed to a "Brexit," including musician Bob Geldof. Using a loudspeaker turned up to a very high volume, Geldof attacked Farage as a "fraud."
"Here are the facts about fishing," Geldof said. "Britain makes more money than any other country in Europe from fishing. Two, Britain has the second largest quota for fishing in Europe after Denmark. Three, Britain has the third largest landings (fish caught in foreign or domestic ports). Fourth, you are no fisherman’s friend."
Geldof, who was on a boat that blasted out songs such Chicago's If you leave me now and Dobie Gray's The In Crowd, added: “We wish these hardworking families all the best but you ain’t the man for the job, dude. Go down river."
Roy Greenslade, a journalism professor at London's City University and a media critic for the Guardian newspaper, said that the campaigns are growing "increasingly acerbic" as they enter the final lap. "They are getting nervous because it's become impossible to know who's going to win."
One pro-remain effort is choosing a softer approach, literally, to make its case: hugging Brits.
"To help prevent Vote Leave, we will hug as many Brits as possible," said Tessa Szyszkowitz, one of the organizers of #hugabrit, which aims to win to over undecided voters with kind embraces. "Would be nice to see you. Hug included of course."