Labour MEP for Yorkshire & Humber
One interesting issue that I didn’t mention in my discussion of the outvoting debate a couple of days ago is the question of the ratio of MEPs to population for each country. The Telegraph seems to be suggesting that there’s a problem: Britain has around ten per cent of the seats in Brussels, and is […]
A lot of dust has been kicked up in the last couple of days about new Europe-wide rules on hoovers. As usual, things are not quite what the media is making them out to be. The European Commission does a nice job of laying out the facts about the new measures, which are (surprise!) somewhat […]
After all the fuss about Juncker, it was striking how little comment there was in Britain about the choice of Donald Tusk to be the next President of the European Council (the person chosen by prime ministers and presidents to chair their “summit” meetings). BBC TV news the next morning didn’t even mention it in […]
Spending my summer break pottering along the Baltic coast from Germany through Poland, Lithuania and Latvia is a reminder of how recently Europe saw horrific slaughters like those now on our television screens in Iraq and Syria. I write these words from Bialystok, where, seventy-five years ago, the Jewish community comprised almost two thirds of […]
Who should be the next President of the European Council? Beyond the headline talk of the political, geographical, gender and other balances to be found for top appointments, there’s the little matter of competence and ability to actually do the job. The European Council is the most difficult EU institution to chair. It can only […]
The world has looked on in horror at the events of the past few weeks in Gaza. The sight of, in particular, children being killed and schools bombed has shocked public opinion, even among those traditionally supportive of Israel. But even if the latest ceasefire holds, what then? A return to the previous status quo […]
The madness that saw millions of young people go out to slaughter each other on the battlefields of the First World War started 100 years ago today. Of course, on all sides, most were motivated by high ideals: to defend their country, to right a wrong, to do their duty. Killing people who had precisely […]
I’m always amused by the way people give credit for Britain’s economic fortunes exclusively to British governments, as if Britain were an economic as well as a geographical island, totally unconnected to the rest of the world. Opprobrium was heaped on the Labour government for the recession starting in 2009 — even though it was […]
On a gloriously sunny Saturday, it was a pleasure to be invited to Kirkwood Hospice‘s summer garden party and fundraising event in Huddersfield. The hospice provides invaluable medical, care and support services for people across the Kirklees area with long-term and life-limiting medical conditions. It also has an education programme, which aims to develop the […]
Travelling back from Brussels to Yorkshire by car this time, we decided to go via Ypres (or Ieper, to give its proper name). It’s always moving to visit the area, with its countless war cemeteries, but never more so than on this 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War. The Menin gate […]
Aside from the serious work that goes on, most parliaments also have their amusing and quirky side. Perusing the bookshop at Westminster, you find plenty of books with anecdotes and tales of the lighter side of politics and some of the more colourful characters who have inhabited the building. The European Parliament too has its share of yarns and […]
Had a productive weekend in Milton Keynes at Labour’s National Policy Forum. This is the body which does the detailed drafting of Labour Party policy, for submission to Labour Party conference for final approval. Of course, this year is particularly important, with the general election being only ten months away — so much of the work done this weekend will […]
In a democracy, people who want to change or undermine the system have the option to gather support and stand for election within that system — but they then have to decide what to do if they’re elected within the very system they want to break up. If you’re elected to a parliament of which you […]
After a good deal of speculation, David Cameron has unexpectedly nominated a little-known peer, Lord Hill, as Britain’s next European Commissioner. This is a bizarre choice. Following his car-crash of a negotiating strategy over Juncker’s nomination, Cameron desperately needs to claw back some British influence and credibility in the eyes of neighbouring countries by securing […]
This weekend, I spoke at two commemorations of the Srebrenica massacre — one in Leeds (at the Makkah Masjid mosque) and one in Bradford (at the town hall) — marking the 19th anniversary of the cold-blooded massacre of over 8000 Muslims in the Bosnian civil war. I visited Srebrenica three years ago. Like others in […]
