From our Euro MP

Rory Palmer MEP has now served 100 days as our latest East Midlands MEP. Members here in Lutterworth and Blaby will remember the amount of canvassing Rory did during Amanda's General Election campaign in 2015.

Rory says:

"I made my maiden speech in the European Parliament on the important issue of mental health and tackling stigma. This will be a key area of my work in the coming months and I am pleased to be part of the Mental Health Europe Coalition in the European Parliament.


"I've been appointed to the Parliament's Environment, Health & Food Safety Committee where I lead for Labour on health policy. I am doing a lot of work on the health and NHS implications of Brexit."


[CLICK HERE to read Rory's article for the New Statesman on the damage done by the loss of the European Medicines Agency from London.]

Rory continues:

"I'm a member of the Employment & Social Affairs Committee where I am leading for the Social Group in the Parliament on two reports - one on gender equality in the media, and another on supporting people back to work from illness and injury.


"Before becoming an MEP I was supporting the TUC's Dying to Work campaign which aims to secure stronger employment rights for people with a terminal illness. I am now leading this campaign in the European Parliament and have set up a new MEP group to take this important campaign forward at EU level.


"On my first day as an MEP I launched my #ErasmusFuture campaign to keep the UK in Erasmus. I want young people from our region and across the country to benefit from these opportunities in the future."


[CLICK HERE to read an article by Rory on Erasmus. CLICK HERE to sign Rory's petition.]

Brexit Lies - a farmer's story

Brexit is already having an effect on farmers here in South Leicestershire, one local dairy farmer told us earlier this month.

"Mine is a small business with a moderate turnover and currently no profits. I pay little tax but I do provide two and half jobs. I also pay several thousand pounds a month to other businesses for goods and services. My business therefore has a value to the wider community. But its future in threatened by Brexit. 

"I have come to rely on labour from Eastern Europe because British people prepared to milk cows are an increasingly rare commodity. My experience is repeated across the industry. Over 60% of staff on dairy forms in the UK are Eastern European. My Romanian employee has already left because the fall in the value of the pound has effectively lowered his wages.

 "The likely effects of Brexit are being downplayed to the public. Agricultural commodities are priced in US dollars. My costs have therefore risen by 15%. Dairy farming is not profitable enough to absorb the extra cost and the consumer will inevitably suffer. If we get to the stage of actually leaving the EU I believe the inflationary effect on food prices will increase dramatically.

"The referendum campaign was scandalous. Those who voted Leave were sold a lie."

Dame Glenis Willmott, our Labour MEP in the East Midlands, reports from Strasbourg.

Every month Labour MEPS debate the big issues and vote on new legislation and proposals in Strasbourg. This Strasbourg session has been another busy one for Labour MEPs. We've voted for a range of proposals, from tax transparency after the Panama leak, to a new package to help combat terrorism while protecting your privacy.

EU adopts Labour proposals for tax transparency

Some welcome news while the Panama Papers scandal keeps unfolding: a Labour report has led to new proposals for EU wide rules on tax havens, including public country-by-country reporting and a common list of tax havens.

Conservative MEPs have repeatedly failed to support EU action in the past, and David Cameron and the UK government have continually blocked stronger EU measures at meetings of European leaders.

New rules for air passengers and data protection laws will help combat terror and safeguard privacy

The European Parliament voted this week for the EU Passenger Name Record (PNR) directive and data protection package.

The PNR directive will provide uniform rules on the processing and sharing of flight data between EU countries, and allow law enforcement to view the data in a dedicated database.

At the same time, the data protection package - long supported by Labour MEPs - will ensure the provisions of the measure are aligned and will mean a clear legal framework is in place for the use and sharing of personal data.

Labour MEPs back extending EU's Erasmus student exchange scheme to include more disadvantaged young people.

Labour MEPs have also voted for a report calling for the EU's Erasmus student exchange programme to be extended to more disadvantaged young people, for example those in vocational training rather than at university.

The report calls for expanding and improving mobility for vocational training and education, including specific support for disabled young people.

Labour MEPs believe one of the challenges of programmes such as Erasmus is to ensure they not only reach out to students in higher education but also to more disadvantaged young people who would not otherwise have access to such opportunities as learning abroad.  Research has shown that Erasmus participants are half as likely to experience long term unemployment and 5 years after graduation their unemployment rate is 23% lower, so the more of our young people have access to this scheme the better.

Many thanks to Glenis for keeping us all up-to-date. Who says the EU doesn't have positive benefits for the UK? Perhaps if we had more positive and active MEPs like Glenis the popular impression might be very different.

EPLP newsletter - out now!

The latest online newsletter from the European Parliamentary Labour Party is here.  Check it out - it's full of interesting facts.

A timely Halloween reminder of the Euro facts as Nigel Farage rises from the grave and undead Euroseptics prowl the government's back benches.