Labour MEP for Yorkshire & Humber
An article jointly written by Neil Kinnock and me has been published today in LabourList. The European Union is changing. This is nothing new. We Brits might not be very good at noticing, but the European Union (EU) has always been changing — sometimes gradually, sometimes rapidly. It changes in response to our needs as […]
In a forthright statement, yesterday Queen Elizabeth called for unity in Europe. Addressing German president Joachim Gauck, she said: The United Kingdom has always been closely involved in its continent. We know that division in Europe is dangerous and that we must guard against it … that remains a common endeavour. She did not explicity […]
The Labour Party’s grassroots pro-European organisation relaunches today with a reception and planning meeting in Westminster. The event brings together grassroots members from across the country and senior politicians to unite around making the case for the UK’s continued membership of the European Union, ahead of the forthcoming referendum. The Labour Movement for Europe’s honorary […]
Labour Movement for Europe (LME) will be launching its Westminster Parliamentary Group in the Palace of Westminster today. Unfortunately I cannot make it to the launch, but I’ve put some thoughts down for all those attending: On behalf of the LME MEP group — of which all Labour MEPs are members (no backstabbers here!) — I […]
A simple leaflet describing the main job of an MEP and the role of the European Parliament.
The entire EU budget is less than 1% of GDP. (For comparison, the UK government budget is 40%.)
The European Court of Human RIghts was invented by the British after World War II. (It has nothing to do with the European Union.)
Each year we sell more to Holland alone than to the whole of the Commonwealth. (More than £24 billion in 2013.)
The majority of UK immigration comes from outside the EU. (And it’s totally up to us how we deal with it.)
Non-EU countries Switzerland & Norway both have much higher EU immigration than Britain. (And Norway obeys EU rules that it can’t influence, including free movement.)
The US, Australia, Canada & Ireland have all gone on record to urge us to stay in the EU. (We don’t have to take their advice, but sometimes it’s good to listen to your friends.)
A great way to cut red tape: consolidate 28 sets of national regulations into one shared set.
The Battle of Waterloo was one of the great milestones in European history — and today marks the 200th anniversary of the episode that concluded an extremely prolonged military campaign. I’m delighted to be attending the Waterloo 200 Service of Commemoration at St. Paul’s Cathedral today to mark the occasion. The ceremony is testament to […]
Sadly, I wasn’t able to make it to the GMB congress in Dublin, but here is my message of greeting to them.
Today’s much-anticipated vote in the European Parliament, which was to lay out our position on the ongoing Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership negotiations, has been postponed. The new date for the debate and vote has not yet been confirmed. Nothing else about the debate has changed. We continue to argue for a TTIP that benefits people on both […]
The debate about a possible future Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership continues, with a lot of attention focusing on an upcoming parliamentary vote this Wednesday 10 June. As a Labour MEP, I am fully opposed to the so-called ‘investor-state dispute settlement’ scheme (ISDS), and will vote accordingly on 10 June. This is not yet a […]
Question According to a report by Fairfood International, published on 8 April 2015 and not yet refuted, shrimp farms in Asia are employing labour at well below real wages (EUR 8 per worker per day) and under unacceptable labour conditions according to EU standards (60 hours per week). According to the report, shrimp produced under […]
Every commentator and his dog has advice to offer Cameron on his EU referendum strategy. I made a few suggestions myself in the Guardian last week; now it’s the turn of Matthew Elliott, who heads up a eurosceptic pressure group, to do the same in the Telegraph. Most of Mr Elliott’s ideas seem sensible at […]
Question Does the Commission regard Fmsy as an upper limit for fishing mortality as laid down in the common fisheries policy, Article 2.2 and the UN Fish Stock Agreement? If so, can the Commission then justify why the ICES was requested to provide plausible values ‘around’ Fmsy for stocks in the North Sea, in contradiction […]
My colleague Jude Kirton-Darling MEP has written a useful update on the state of play regarding TTIP, including a detailed explanation of the work Labour has been doing so far and what happens next: If adopted as such by the plenary of the European Parliament, the motion will send strong messages to the Commission. One […]
The article below first appeared today in The Guardian and is reproduced with permission. It’s rare to find a politician in Europe who can talk about the EU without mentioning the R-word. Reform is the apple pie of European politics: every politician wants a slice. This is fair enough. Nobody would seriously argue that the […]
Thirty years ago today, I was in Block Z of the Heysel stadium, while 39 people died just a few metres away from me. The memory of this has haunted me ever since. It was also a sobering lesson of how public authorities can try to absolve themselves of any blame, something sadly witnessed again […]
Two thirds of the way into her speech at the State Opening of Parliament this afternoon, the Queen announced what we’ve all been expecting: “My government will renegotiate the United Kingdom’s relationship with the European Union and pursue reform of the European Union for the benefit of all Member States. Alongside this, early legislation will […]
Question How many visits (over the last five years) has DG MARE conducted, at the level of senior or junior officials, to meet with fishers’ organisations or practitioners in Member States and their regions, in order to consult on and explain the 2013 Common Fisheries Policy reform, and how many such organisations or practitioners have […]
