Barbara Castle once wrote that, “Politics is not just about policies: it is about fighting for them in every available forum and at every opportunity.” As newly elected leader of Labour in Europe I am now following in Baroness Castle’s formidable footsteps, the first woman at the helm for 16 years, and as we approach the European elections in June those words certainly have resonance.
These are challenging times. The choices made over the coming months will be the most significant for a generation. At stake is the planet, our homes, our jobs, our health, our safety and our rights and the European parliament provides a crucial forum in which to fight for these issues. It is the EU’s only directly-elected institution, a powerful player in their decision making for almost half a billion people and MEPs give those people a voice. The parliament may not lead legislative action within the EU yet in responding to and amending European commission proposals individual MEPs, working within their political groups, can actually have far more direct impact than Westminster MPs. And Labour MEPs have a key pivotal role in linking UK governmental action and policy with decisions at European level.
I have discussed with Gordon Brown and David Milliband the action we are taking to help people and businesses right now and to continue to help them through the economic downturn – to stay in their homes, protect their savings and create jobs. We as MEPs must support the Labour government as it solves the economic crisis, while the government supports the EU’s European Economic Recovery Plan.
Endorsed by the EU in December, the plan outlines a strategy both to immediately treat the symptoms of the downturn and to help in the future. The European Social Fund, for example, will inject confidence into the labour market by investing in employment, ensuring workers have the right skills. The region I represent, the East Midlands, alone has been allocated more than £163 million of ESF for the next seven years. There are plans aimed at benefiting the car industry, the construction sector, factories and trade and development as well as to enhance access to financing for SMEs and to boost the fight against climate change by speeding up investment in clean technology and energy efficiency.
The UK approach to economic recovery is being taken all over the world, from Germany to America, and when Britain hosts a meeting of the G20 in April, we will push for more coordinated action. The global problems we face need large-scale solutions and working together magnifies the benefits for all of us. A strong Europe consolidates this action. To paraphrase Barack Obama, the challenge is to show people that they have a stake in effective partnerships.
My leadership of the EPLP will be based on consensus, openness, clarity of thought, focus and the involvement of every one of my 18 Labour colleagues. My priority in our election campaign is to ensure as many people as possible know the impact Europe has on their lives and to motivate them to vote Labour. The elections on 4 June are important in their own right. It matters that we elect more Labour MEPs.
The days of being seen as remote or disengaged must end. Forget navel-gazing and jargon, we have to speak in language people understand and show we are delivering, and will continue to deliver, on the things that really matter to them.
The food on our plate, the cost of our shopping trolley and the quality of the air we breathe are all affected by action voted by Euro MPs. Key improvements to consumer safeguards, child protection and health and workers’ rights have all been made as a result of our work in Europe.
But if we want to put an end to people feeling disregarded by Europe, we also have to listen. People need to know we are taking what they say seriously, that their needs and opinions are being considered, and that this process will be ongoing. We must seize the chance to engage.
Alongside this, one message is paramount – this dialogue is possible and the results progressive only if you elect the MEPs who see things your way.
As anxiety levels rise, inadequate, divisive and often racist solutions from the right to the challenges we face can be appealing to people. Socialism must rise to this challenge. Commenting on another huge period of upheaval, the Second World war, Barbara Castle remarked that, “even Churchill had to talk socialism to keep up people’s morale.” Well, we don’t just talk socialism, we fight for fair chances, a fair say and fair rules for everyone and our record proves it. These are values vital to the times in which we find ourselves. That is why electing Labour politicians in Europe makes a real difference.
Glenis Willmott is MEP for the East Midlands and Labour’s Leader in Europe