Labour MEP for Yorkshire & Humber
One of the issues that concerns many British people is animal welfare. During my time as an MEP, I made this issue a priority, and conversations with voters during this election campaign has confirmed to me that the topic is still close to many people’s hearts. As with many significant political issues, animal welfare rules […]
How will Clegg fare against Farage today? Attention to detail on European matters has never been Clegg’s strongpoint, and Farage will throw loads of clichés at him which need sound factual knowledge to rebut. If he can do so, fine (though he will also start with the handicap of his unpopular coalition tag). Farage is […]
British businesses are not the only ones suffering from Cameron’s attempted blackmail over Europe. It seems government officials themselves are getting so worried about the UK’s under-representation in the EU institutions that they are buying pseduo-advertising space in the Guardian to try and reverse the trend: British officials have played a crucial role in shaping […]
I spent the morning on the doorsteps of Horsforth, with Mary Creagh MP, prospective MP candidate Alex Sobel, and over a dozen party members. Then I made my way to Scarborough for the Yorkshire & Humber Cooperative Party conference on the subject of speaking up for the North. There was an excellent analytical speech by […]
A packed, lively, powerful and emotional event at the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign fundraiser in Rotherham. The organisers, led by Emma Wallis, did a brilliant job. Having supported the Hillsborough families in their struggle for truth about the behaviour (and subsequent cover-up) of the very same police force in that same decade, I was […]
A hectic mixture of speaking engagements today. First a hustings debate with candidates from other parties (Conservative, Lib Dem, Greens, and a no-show from UKIP) at Leeds Trinity University with their journalism students. They cast votes in a ballot box after the debate, and I was delighted to see the result: LAB 25, CON 6, […]
Agriculture is important for Yorkshire & Humber. There are over 12,000 holdings, and nearly two thirds of them are small farms of less than 100 hectares (250 acres). Over a fifth are grazing in Less Favoured Areas/Areas of Natural Constraint. Overall, farming has bucked the trend during the recession. According to the National Farmers Union, […]
Nice afternoon debating at the York Older People’s Assembly with Green, Lib Dem, and UKIP candidates. The Tories didn’t show up. Another puzzling feature was that, although the lead UKIP candidate for Yorkshire & Humber (a certain J Collins) was in the room, she was replaced for the debate by Roger Helmer, an East Midland […]
In yesterday’s Sunday Telegraph, David Cameron wrote a piece outlining his professed intentions about Britain’s future in Europe. The article is particularly irresponsible in its first section, where Cameron (or rather, I suspect, his ghostwriter) deliberately conjures up several eurosceptic myths which he knows full well are either highly misleading or downright false — but […]
Sunday lunch was with Labour members in Otley, the lovely market town north of Leeds, with a delicious array of dishes and desserts made by different members. The previous evening, some members had been celebrating at the 70th birthday party of Councillor Pamela Gill, Town Mayor of Otley and a stalwart party member — but […]
Morning in Skipton at an open public meeting at the Herriot Hotel, where I had great support from the Labour members of the audience. But I hope I even convinced the Tories there to support Labour in the European elections. Pro-European Tories are distressed at the eurosceptic obsession of their party, and they know that […]
Was it worth spending a day away in London? Yes — I was able to give two speeches to packed rooms, one at the London Economics Seminar about Britain’s future in Europe and why the EU is so important for our economy, and one at the London School of Economics on the role of the […]
Ed Miliband’s speech yesterday has already given rise to a raft of wishful thinking from europhobes and europhiles alike. Ed’s main main message was absolutely clear: he said no to matching Cameron’s pledge to hold an EU referendum. Indeed, he has already won plaudits from some unexpected quarters for the shrewdness of this strategy, including […]
Fascinating meeting of Shipley, Windhill and Wrose Labour Party branches, discussing Europe even before I arrived! This, of course, because of the speech by Ed Miliband clarifying Labour’s position on an EU referendum. There was much support for his position ruling out such a referendum in current circumstances. If anything, members seemed to wish that […]
Good meeting in Guiseley with members of the local Labour Party including former MP Paul Truswell and former MEP David Bowe. One member gave an amusing account of how he had been in his local pub when several UKIPers came in, with rosettes and balloons, for what they said was their inaugural event in the […]
Just had a good couple of days of meeting people to talk about Europe, and what’s at stake in the elections. I dropped into the event organised in Wakefield by the excellent Linda McAvan MEP to mark International Women’s Day, at which Labour’s leader in the European Parliament, Glenis Willmott, also spoke. Its remit was […]
Last night, in a debate at Leeds University, I described the Prime Minister’s strategy on Europe as double blackmail — first of fellow EU members and then of the British electorate. There is nothing democratic about a plan to renegotiate the terms of our membership of the EU and then have a take-it-or-leave-it in/out referendum. […]
Great quiz night at Colne Valley Labour Party, thanks to a mammoth quiz prepared by Pat Colling. Questions ranged from European history to the Eurovision Song Contest via fashion, flags, geography, the EU itself, and… famous mistresses of monarchs and politicians! It was lovely to see old friends and new members as well as the […]
Nice to have afternoon tea in Leeds and to chat with members of the European Movement from Yorkshire & Humber. Then off to Beeston to meet Labour party members and councillors from Beeston and Holbeck. Besides discussing practicalities of the election campaign, there was intense debate about Ukraine and what can be done about it. […]
Returning to the theme of Eurosceptic fantasies, I came across this interesting piece this morning. Read the full article on the IdentitySpace blog.
Did an interview with one of the new local TV stations – Estuary TV, based in North Lincs. Good set of questions asked by its reporter James Dunn, though I doubt they’ll use the full 18 minutes of questions and answers we did! Then a lively meeting with the Grimsby Fabians. As one would expect […]
With just twelve weeks to go to polling day, now’s the time to start a campaign blog. In this blog, I’ll recount my campaigning activities and address issues I’ve encountered both on the doorstep and in public meetings. Things are indeed beginning to hot up. This weekend was the congress of the Party of European […]
