Welcome

Membership of the EU is crucial to Britain. It offers peace and security and is vital for jobs and trade, particularly in Yorkshire & Humber. It also makes sense that we agree to act together with our neighbouring countries on issues, like the environment and climate change, that we simply cannot deal with ourselves.

Click here to find out more about the importance of the EU.

May 2009

I recently joined Labour's Parliamentary Candidate for Scarborough and Whitby, Annajoy David (centre), on a trip to Scarborough's Woodend Creative Workspace to meet its director, Andrew Clay, and see how the centre is playing a major role, with the help of EU money, in regenerating the seaside town.

Click here to find out more.

May 2009

The European Parliament has voted to stop the practice of energy suppliers charging people on prepayment meters more than people who pay by direct debit. Now this outrageous discriminatory pricing has ended people paying by for both gas and electricity on a prepayment meter can expect to save £200 a year on energy

Click here to find out more.

May 2009

The latest edition of my animal welfare newsletter is available, updating you this month on the ban on the import and export of seal fur in the EU and votes on animal experiments in the European Parliament.

Click here for latest animal welfare newsletter.

April 2009

12,200 sign Leeds United petition to UEFA, which is now closed

In 1973 Leeds United were cheated out of the European Cup Winners' Cup, following a 1-0 defeat to AC Milan in a game marred by a series of outrageous decisions by a referee suspected of match fixing. My petition to demand an investigation into the game by UEFA and to award the Cup Winners' Cup to Leeds if there is evidence of bribery is now closed but as soon as UEFA respond the news will be made available here.

Click here to learn more about the petition.

April 2009

My latest Quarterly Report is now available to view online and details all the work I have been doing in Yorkshire & Humber and in the European Parliament since the start of 2009.

Click here to view.

I have joined for forces with Danish MEP Dan Jørgensen to launch a Europe-wide campaign to end the excessively long transport of animals for slaughter. Currently animals can be transported for days but the 8 hours campaign wants to limit that to eight hours.

Show your support by signing the 8 hours petition here.

As a Labour MEP I am very proud of what the European Parliamentary Labour Party has achieved in the EU. A new pamphlet details over 100 successes Labour MEPs have played a part in which is now up on my website. It also provides plentiful reasons for why Britain's membership of the EU is so important. Please email me if you'd like a hard copy.

Click here to read Labour's achievements in Europe online.

Ahead of the 2009 European elections all the political parties from across the EU, which make up the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, agreed on a common manifesto. After a lengthy period of consultation which party members were invited to contribute to, the manifesto, called 'People first, a new direction for Europe', has been released.

Read it here.