Labour MEP for Yorkshire & Humber
Proceeding with Brexit involves difficult choices. The Johnson deal does not “Get Brexit done”. In fact, it’s simply the end of the first, easier, and less important part – the exit arrangements. Now come the negotiations on the future relationship. It means years more wrangling, arguments and division.
1 December 2019 marks 10 years since the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon. With MEPs and the new European Commission preparing the Future of Europe conference due to start in early 2020, it is important to look back on what the Lisbon Treaty achieved and what it didn’t achieve.
As someone who was actually there during the Labour NEC discussion on anti-Semitism earlier this week, I can say that much of the reporting on it bears no resemblance to the reality of what actually happened.
Writing in Labour List I explain why Labour cannot afford to be ambiguous about the next EU referendum.
Last week I chaired a conference on Kashmir in Brussels. This week I spoke in the debate in the chamber, calling on the EU and its member states to put pressure on India to address the situation it has created in Azad Kashmir.
My response to an article in Thursday’s Labour List which criticised the EPLP’s decision to vote in support of the nomination of Ursula von der Leyen as the next European Commission president.
There is much comment at the moment on how the EU goes about choosing the President of the European Commission, the EU’s executive/administration. Here’s a brief explanation of the process, and a comparison with happens in the UK.
Looking behind the Farage-focussed headlines to see what the UK voters were trying to tell Labour, and the country.
The D’Hondt system used for election MEPs is proportional, but votes for smaller parties are not always translate into seats. Here is an explainer of how the system works.
Talking to BBC News about the extension of Article 50, European elections and the importance of having a confirmatory ballot on whatever deal emerges.
There was an interesting debate in the European Parliament yesterday with the Italian Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte.
Richard Aikens has argued that the EU cannot succeed because it will become a federal state that most of its citizens do not want. He makes a number of assumptions and, in my view, latches on to several misconceptions, which I address in this piece.
Speaking in the European Parliament debate on the Evaluation of the Lisbon Treaty (for which I was Rapporteur) to dispel some of the false narratives that opponents of the EU like to peddle.
Speaking in the European Parliament debate in preparation for the next European Council meeting on 18-19 October, I point out that the Brexit being offered to the UK, including Leave voters, is not what they were told and not what many voted for.
Some reflections on recognising the importance of democracy in today’s heated political climate.
I was interviewed by Jo Coburn on Friday’s Daily Politics show, discussing the lack of progress with the Brexit negotiations at the crucial June European Council.
Evidence has emerged of links between pro-Brexit campaigners and intermediaries for the Russian Government. In addition, a study has revealed that over 156 000 Russian-based Twitter accounts were engaged in a concerted campaign to Leave.
Two years after the referendum, the Conservative government still has not clarified its starting position for the Brexit negotiations.
Speaking in a debate on the Better Law Making report I explain how the EU has a higher threshold than many national parliaments for introducing regulations, and how these reduce red tape across all 28 countries. Divergence creates more complexity, as the UK government is quickly discovering.
Discussing the Labour Party’s positions on various aspects of the ongoing Brexit negotiations – May 2018.
The government could well be aiming for a Withdrawal Agreement that leaves all contentious issues to be solved only after Brexit, during the transition phase which in the meantime keeps the status quo.
I responded to John Redwood‘s bogus claims in The Yorkshire Post that Brexit is justified because it is somehow undemocratic for 28 democracies to work together in the EU. (Redwood will try anything to avoid discussing economic damage of Brexit!)
The 2012 financial fair play (FFP) agreement between the Commission and UEFA was designed to create a level playing field to enable European football clubs to compete fairly with one another.
Cambridge Analytica, the data company used by both Leave.EU and Vote Leave during the UK referendum on EU membership, have refused to comment on how they used personal data during the referendum campaign. Indeed, the only public knowledge on their use of data has come from research by individuals.
The Conservatives have removed the whip from two of their MEPs, Richard Ashworth and Julie Girling, for voting in favour of a non-binding European Parliament resolution which noted that “sufficient progress has not yet been made” in the Brexit talks.
The reason why there is so much confusion and chaos about what Britain should aim for in the Brexit negotiations is simple. Neither of the two possible types of Brexit is an easy option. And in its attempts to force one or the other through, the government risks sidelining both parliament and the people.
The utter foolishness of Theresa May’s ‘no deal is better than a bad deal’ mantra when it comes to negotiating a new relationship with the EU is back in every speech by her and senior cabinet ministers as well as appearing in the Conservative manifesto. It can’t be emphasised enough that ‘No deal’ is simply not an option.
Today the 73% of the European Parliament agreed a resolution in response to article 50 being triggered. It is Labour’s responsibility to hold Theresa May’s government to account for their promise secure “exactly the same benefits”.
The government’s determination to push the European Union (Notice of Withdrawal) Bill through the Commons with such limited time for debate to consider the many implications of such a momentous decision, is a serious affront to the parliamentary sovereignty that they claimed to hold dear.
The following is a summary of the Government’s Brexit White Paper – together with my comments in red: Great repeal bill and control of UK laws “We will bring forward a White Paper on the Great Repeal Bill that provides more detail about our approach.” The first promise of this white paper is to promise […]
A wildly inaccurate UKIP press release, picked up and sensationalised by the Express Online, has been published on the day that the EU parliament voted overwhelmingly to adopt rule changes that would increase transparency and efficiency, as well as holding all MEPs to a higher standard of behaviour than before. Given their less than impressive […]
The Government has an opportunity to reflect, and argue its case in the Palace of Westminster, which is only right for a country that is a Parliamentary democracy.
As part of their ‘Brexit Debates’ I have written for Unlock Democracy about why the EU is the most democratic of all the international structures to which the UK belongs and that UK sovereignty is not undermined by our membership, but enhanced by it.
I’ve had a number of enquiries asking what happens to British MEPs in the wake of the referendum result. Britain’s timetable for departure has not yet been settled (more on this here), but it is not likely to happen for quite some time. In the meantime, the UK remains a member of the EU, and UK citizens […]
A growing number of problems can’t be dealt with adequately by national authorities alone — they require concerted international action at various levels. And contrary to much anti-European rhetoric, the EU is actually the most democratic of all the international structures we belong to. Traditional methods of international co-operation are slow, cumbersome, opaque and, frankly, […]
What democratic checks exist in the EU system?
What roles do the various elected bodies play in making EU law?
The EU referendum is now just around the corner — and the final deadline to register for this historic vote is almost upon us. It’s very simple and easy to do online. And if you’re not registered by Tuesday 7 June, you won’t be able to participate. There are currently 7.5 million eligible voters in […]
Outside the EU, we’d still need to follow its rules, but with no say on them.
How democratic are the various international organisations to which the UK belongs?
Yet another misleading allegation by the Brexit brigade is that the European Union is on an escalator, heading for a centralised superstate. They ignore the fact that the basic rulebook of the European Union, the treaties, is agreed unanimously by member states. There can be no increase in the powers of the European Union unless […]
A new line of attack by eurosceptics came my way the other day: the claim that the EU ignored national democratic decisions when it came to the French and Dutch referendums on the proposed EU constitution, Ireland’s initial ‘No’ to the Lisbon treaty, and the Greek referendum of 2015. So what actually happened?
I make a short statement in Parliament about the improvements to lawmaking in the new ‘inter-institutional agreement’.
Tony Benn famously proposed five questions to be asked of anyone who holds power of one kind or another. One of the many organisations to fail his democracy test at the time was the European Commission. But, since then, the EU treaties have been changed to increase the accountability of the Commission. How would it […]
“We should make our own laws in our own parliament” — this is a favourite slogan of the Brexit brigade. What’s the truth behind it? Of course, we do make our own laws in our own parliament — but that very same parliament has decided that some laws should be made jointly with our neighbouring […]
Much is being made of the fact that, on some aspects of Cameron’s proposed EU deal, secondary legislation will have to pass through the European Parliament, which (it’s claimed) might water it down or even reject it. Legally speaking this is of course true. The European Parliament, like any other parliament, is by definition free […]
In their latest attempt to laugh off Cameron’s draft renegotiation deal, hardcore Tory eurosceptics are now arguing that the proposed red card for national parliaments doesn’t go far enough. They insist instead that the British parliament, and therefore the parliaments of every other EU country, should not only be better involved before European legislation is […]
I sent this letter to the editor of the Daily Telegraph today. Dear Editor, You list “a democratic deficit, economic stagnation and chronic failure over mass migration” as the failures of the EU (Telegraph View, 10 Dec). But are they? “Democratic deficit” trips nicely off the tongue. But it would beggar belief that 28 democracies […]
My letter about the EU was the leader in today’s Guardian comments section: Paul Mason relies on tired old cliches – and, bizarrely, his dislike of the Belgian police – to justify his claim that there is no democratic control over the European Union (G2, 19 October). He talks of “vast bureaucratic structures” and “the […]
A short debate on BBC Radio 4’s The World Tonight programme about migration, and the democratic structures that underpin the EU.
The European Parliament voted today for a more rigorous process of confirmation hearings for Commissioners, giving MEPs more power to cross-examine nominees. The proposals from the European Parliament constitutional affairs committee, in a report authored by Labour MEP Richard Corbett, include allowing follow-up questions in the event of non-answers; second hearings in case the answers […]
I spoke in Parliament to introduce a package of reforms to the way Commissioner candidates are approved by MEPs in future.
In the future, EU governments should present one male and one female candidate to the post of Commissioner in order to enable the President of the Commission to ensure gender balance in the European Commission. This is one of the key recommendations of a resolution drafted by Labour MEP Richard Corbett and approved today by […]
My letter was published this morning in the Times: Sir, The claim by John Neimer (June 29) that the EU is centralised “just like the old USSR” is absurd. The EU can only act in those fields where its member states, all democracies, have conferred powers on it. Even then, any EU legislation requires the […]
A simple leaflet describing the main job of an MEP and the role of the European Parliament.
Question In its answer to Written Question E-001717/2015, the Commission stated that, in view of the current lack of unanimous support for a European mutual society statute, it does not intend at this stage to initiate such a proposal and that therefore ‘there is no need for the Commission to publish the text of the […]
A printable A4 sheet which covers all the key points of the EU debate in Britain.
The deadline for registering to vote in the general election in May is almost upon us. It’s simple — if you’re not registered by Monday 20 April, you won’t be able to vote.
I’ve just published an article in Business for New Europe’s blog on the simple point of how much UK law is made at European level, and how it has become a political hot potato: Of course, the question can be tricky to answer, because a lot depends on what counts as ‘a law’ and what counts as […]
Not true. The independent House of Commons library found that the real proportion is just 13.2% of our laws.
Not true. All proposals for new EU laws are debated, amended and passed (or rejected) by elected national governments and directly-elected MEPs.
Not true. We don’t decide anything at EU level unless all countries have agreed to do so — and even then, each piece of legislation is agreed by national governments.
The European Commission administration is only a little larger than a single city council in the UK.
Not true. In fact, the European Parliament is much better than national parliaments at saying ‘no’ to controversial proposals.
Be careful what you wish for!
Almost every democratic system has aspects which are questionable. The unelected House of Lords in Britain. The role of money in elections in the USA. The pros and cons of different electoral systems. And, of course, the EU. EU institutions certainly suffer from the problem of distance. They are inevitably and unavoidably more remote from […]
Not true. The court doesn’t make political decisions, but it does sometimes have to remind politicians of what they have agreed!
The figures show this isn’t anywhere near true. In fact, we almost always win votes through finding common ground with other countries.
This is an attempt to conjure up a conspiracy in an area where many people aren’t familiar with the details.
As the old adage goes: decisions are made by those who show up. Sadly though, many people in the UK are unaware that in order to show up to vote on the big day, you first must be entered into the electoral register. National Voter Registration Day (5 February) has thus been created as a […]
Question Can the Commission indicate what proportion of the legislation in its 2015 Work Programme consists of proposals to amend, update or adapt existing EU legislation, rather than to legislate in new fields? Answer The Commission Work Programme (CWP) 2015 [COM(2014) 910 final] reflects the Commission’s commitment to prioritise its work and to strengthen better […]
Question Could the Council list the impact assessments it has conducted in accordance with the 2005 interinstitutional common approach to impact assessment (Council Ref. 14901/05), in which each institution was deemed to be responsible for assessing its own proposals/modifications [paragraph 3] and the Council (and Parliament) undertook to carry out impact assessments when they consider […]
The House of Commons Library has just updated its report on the percentage of law affecting the UK that’s agreed at European level. By looking at all Acts of Parliament and implementing measures passed in the last 20 years, they have come to the conclusion that an average of 1.4% of Acts and 12.9% of […]
Question Does the President of the European Council intend to follow the same practice as President Van Rompuy in replying to written parliamentary questions concerning his own political activities? Answer The President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, intends to follow the same practice as the former President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, […]
With the vote of confidence by the European Parliament (by 423 to 209) allowing the Juncker Commission to take office, it’s a good moment to ask what the Parliament has achieved after two weeks of intensive questioning, investigation and cross-examination of proposed commissioners. The media focus was on whether one or the other candidate would […]
As a member of the European Parliament’s constitutional affairs committee, I’ve been observing the commissioner hearings to see how the procedure can be improved in the future. The process, and my report, is yet to be finalised — but I have written some of my initial thoughts in an article for the Parliament Magazine: When it […]
Left Foot Forward have published an article of mine reviewing the hearings process and comparing it to the national political scene: How illuminating it would be, then, if the Commons took a greater interest in ministerial appointments and submitted ministers to close questioning in public confirmation hearings before they could take office! What a powerful […]
It’s great that there’s been some media interest — even in the UK — in the cross-examinations of candidate European commissioners which are happening this week and next in the European Parliament. Among a lot of surprisingly accurate coverage, one less plausible claim is also rearing its head. This is the suggestion that these hearings […]
The highly anticipated cross-examinations of the British nominee for the Commission, Lord Hill, took place this afternoon. Earlier in the day I set the scene with my preview of the hearing, so now it’s time to share my initial reflections on his performance. Hill went out of his way to charm MEPs. He started his address […]
One of the most highly anticipated Commissioner cross-examinations kicks off today in the European Parliament at 12:30 (UK time): that of the British nominee, Lord Hill. By way of setting the scene, I’ve been asked many times in the last few days whether Parliament is ‘gunning for’ Lord Hill, or indeed any of the other […]
As I said yesterday, the Conservatives’ claim that they’re trying to claw back an over-active EU, which has over-regulated and inflicted red tape on hapless countries against their will, should be taken with a pinch of salt. No EU legislation can be adopted without the support of an overwhelming majority of national governments. A ‘qualified […]
A rather dubious claim has crept into quite a few recent BBC articles on the process for appointing the new European Commission: The Commission is seen as the most powerful EU institution, as it drafts EU laws, ensures compliance with EU treaties and negotiates far-reaching trade deals with international partners. “The most powerful EU institution”? […]
Putting together the next Commission isn’t as vital as you might think. After all, Commissioners don’t make EU laws — they only provide the first drafts, for elected governments and MEPs to debate and decide. But there’s still been a fair bit of fuss among the Brussels media (and predictably almost none in Britain) about […]
I sent this letter to the editor of the Telegraph today. Sir, The eurosceptic pressure group ‘Business for Britain’ has attempted to unpick the voting record of ‘the British’ in the European Parliament (How British MEPs are outvoted time and again in Brussels, 1 September). Sadly, their analysis is full of holes. First there’s the […]
I predicted yesterday that UKIP would start bleating when their group’s candidates for a committee chair didn’t receive support from other political groups in the European Parliament. On Twitter, they are now claiming this breaks “EU rules” and that democracy requires them to be given a committee chair! So let’s get something straight. There is […]
Today in Brussels, Parliament’s new committees meet for the first time to formally elect their chairs and vice-chairs. Traditionally, before we proceed to elect our important posts at the start of a term, the main political groups try to reach an agreement allocating these posts to candidates from each group in proportion to the size […]
In the run-up to a national election, working in politics can seem even more exhausting than usual. But occasionally you receive an email — this from a Hertfordshire resident I’ve never met — which reminds you that it can also be immensely rewarding: Dear Richard, My voting card for the May 22 elections has been making […]
Turnout in European elections has become an issue, with commentators focusing on its lower level than national elections and its downward trend over the years. Of course, a higher turnout is always better. But actually, it’s normal that European elections should have a lower turnout. After all, most political issues are decided by our national parliament, not […]
When we can’t trust the mainstream media or even our own government to talk straight on European issues, whom can we trust? A strikingly well-informed and constructive policy briefing on the importance of European issues was jointly published yesterday by the UK’s free churches (Methodists, Baptists and United Reformed). The briefing provides a Christian perspective […]
A lot of eurosceptic arguments flow from a basic narrative which goes something like this: “75% of our laws are imposed on us by an unelected giant bureaucracy in Brussels, stifling our businesses in red tape and costing us billions of pounds a day. We thought we were joining a free trade area, but it […]