Gloom in Looe as fishermen reflect on Labour win

It was an overcast day in Looe as members of the fishing industry reflected on their first Labour MP

Richard Chapman mends his nets in a gloomy Looe harbour and considers whether his new MP will bring Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's promised "sunlight of hope".

South East Cornwall's long-standing Conservative MP Sheryll Murray has been ousted by Labour's Anna Gelderd - a constituency first.

The clouds break but Mr Chapman barely glances up from his task as he reflects on an industry he believes has been overlooked.

"I voted Conservative, it seemed the lesser of two evils. I've no clue what Labour's policy is on fishing but every government so far has been a let down," he says.

Richard Chapman fears the port is dying

"You look around the port, it's dying," Mr Chapman adds.

"When I started from school there were 50 boats - crabbing netters, handline mackerel boats, trawlers.

"There are just six trawlers left.

"I liked to think my children, who are six and 10, would want to join the industry. I don't want that for them now."

He cites "red tape and paperwork" - "made worse by Brexit".

Among them are catch quotas, the introduction of a mandatory catch app to record catches before they are landed, new vessel monitoring systems and inspections.

Labour has said it will sign veterinary agreements to reduce the need for export paperwork.

It also said it would help rebuild trade.

"I always have hope but I don't know if it's realistic," says Mr Chapman.

"We're such a small part of the country's GDP that we are always overlooked for industries worth a lot more income to the government.

"I would say to the new MP look after the little man - the independent fishers."

Dave Bond is unsure if change will come

As the rain pauses and seagulls swoop, Dave Bond leads the way through a scattering of tourists and down a ladder to his trawler Mystique II.

Outgoing Conservative Sheryll Murray's roots run deep in Looe; it was where her husband Neil Murray worked before he died in a suspected fishing accident.

Mr Bond, chairman of the Looe Harbour Commissioners, knew him well and his loyalty extended to a Conservative vote on Thursday night.

"I had a personal connection with Sheryll Murray... she always did her best for the fishing," says Mr Bond.

"As much as I feel the country's in a mess, I think it's going to be in a mess whichever way you vote... better the devil you know than the devil you don't."

He said he had met new MP Anna Gelderd and she seemed "passionate" about South East Cornwall.

"The restrictions, the rules, the quotas, it's all letting the industry down big time.

"Whether a change of party will solve that problem I really don't know."

Jane Hall is sad to have lost the fish market

Jane Hall lives in the village of Downderry, five miles from Looe, but she is visiting for the day.

She misses the fish market, she says, which the outgoing MP was "unable to save".

Despite this she still voted for the Conservative MP and she said she was "sad to lose" her - but hopes Labour will "shakes things up".

Trawlerman Mike Pengelly sits on a harbour bench with his family.

He started fishing in Looe in 1967 and his father and grandfather were fishermen before him.

A former Conservative voter, Mr Pengelly opted for Reform because he felt it was "time for a change" after the previous MP failed to "do them justice".

"Everything the Conservatives promised us never came true and since we left the common market we thought we'd have a better deal but we haven't had it," he says.

In his victory speech Sir Starmer promised to "rebuild Britain with wealth created in every community".

Mike Pengelly says he fears for the future of his son Will, also in the fishing industry

"I haven't got much hope for this industry, nobody's on our side", says Mr Pengelly.

"It's not an even playing field.

"I'm glad I'm getting to an age where I can retire because I can't see a great future.

"My sons have joined me and I can't see a great future for them and I don't think they can either."

Just down the road in Looe town centre, Bix Simm-Smith, 18, is working in a gift shop, one of her three jobs in the tourism industry.

"I woke up this morning and thought 'yay'", she says.

"Pretty much my entire life growing up I've been told my future will be abysmal - I'll have no money, I'll be working my entire life.

"I think Labour have better ideology and it makes me feel calmer about what's going to happen."

She says it gives her hope for an end to "overfishing" and a boost for animal rights.

Sam Chapman appealed for a rethink on restrictions and quotas

Sam Chapman stands over today's catch at Pengelly's Fishmongers.

He says he believes the Conservatives "haven't brought much" to Looe or the fishing industry over the past four years but he voted to keep the MP because he was "brought up voting Conservative".

He asks that Labour "pay attention to the town" and "speak to the fishing town as a whole" on what needs to be done.

He appeals for a "rethink" on quotas and limits, adding: "However bad the public think the fishing industry is, it's actually a lot worse.

"You just don't know if there's going to be a fishing industry here in 20 years.

"It needs new blood but at the minute why would any youngsters come into the industry?"

Has he hope that new MP Anna Gelderd will bring this longed-for change?

"We'll see," he says, "we'll see."