Martin Vickers MP, front left, and other MPs, front row, meet their Icelandic counterparts, including Iceland’s President Halla Tómasdóttir, two from right in second row.(Image: Image supplied by Martin Vickers MP)
A northern Lincolnshire MP is planning to invite the President of Iceland to visit the Grimsby area. It follows his recent participation in a parliamentary delegation to the country.
Martin Vickers (Conservative – Brigg and Immingham) visited the Nordic island for two days as part of an all-party parliamentary group (APPG) in mid-September. He met the country’s President, prime minister, the speaker of its Parliament, and counterpart MPs.
He and other MPs in the small delegation participated in a number of meetings, including with businesses. “I went because of the area’s connections to Iceland and recognise how important it is to the local economy”, Mr Vickers said, adding it was “clearly important from a Grimsby point of view”.
“As much as three-quarters of our fish for the processing factories comes from Iceland,” he said. The seafood cluster centred around Grimsby is worth more than £1.5bn to the region, according to Made Great in Grimsby, and employs thousands of people directly.
“They are serious in their desire to build on local connections here,” Mr Vickers said of the visit. “I think it’s important we have a good working relationship with them.
“Clearly, over the years, we have had our ups and downs, mainly as a result of the Cod Wars.” But, he said, it was now about looking to the future.
He indicated he had not yet, but was going to write to the President of Iceland, Halla Tómasdóttir, to invite her to the area. He said that she had expressed interest in visiting.
Iceland Althing speaker, Þórunn Sveinbjarnardóttir.(Image: Image supplied by Martin Vickers MP)
She would not be the first President of Iceland to visit Grimsby. On July 14, 1990, Icelandic President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir visited to officially open the Fish Docks Open Day.
She was the first female president of Iceland. Ms Tómasdóttir is the second.
Ms Finnbogadóttir’s visit 35 years ago saw an eleventh hour reprieve from protests over a lack of union recognition at the Icelandic Freezing Plant in Grimsby. Her trip to the town is marked by a plaque in Grimsby Town Hall.
Mr Vickers also shared an anecdote about Icelandic interest in the fortunes of Grimsby Town FC. During a visit to Iceland’s Parliament, called the Althing, speaker Thorunn Sveinbjarnardóttir shared reaction to the Mariners’ recent giant-killing cup exploits.
“Quite without any prompting, she mentioned how pleased they were that Grimsby Town had knocked Manchester United out of the cup,” said Mr Vickers. “She said there were a lot of people who keep an eye on Grimsby’s results.”
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