Geoffrey Van Ordens Dispatch from Strasbourg and Brussels
THE WORLD AROUND US
Isn’t it a good time to be British, and to be a Conservative? The Queen yet again has confirmed the enduring significance and
vital role of the monarchy with her enormous success in the Irish Republic and in strengthening the relationship with the US
President. The happiness of the Royal Wedding proved a global attraction shared with 2 billion people. David Cameron has
established himself on the international stage and is proving to be a Prime Minister in whom we can take pride. Given the nature
of the Coalition, we understand that the Europe issue has to be handled with care. We keep up the pressure and get some
reassurance from the Prime Minister's stance on the EU budget and on William Hague’s statements concerning the EU’s External
Action Service. The East of England was very clear on what it thought about tinkering with our electoral system and generally our
local councillors did well in local elections. It’s been a really good month. But let’s not be complacent about the threat from
Labour – after all the damage that Labour Governments have inflicted on our country during 13 years in power they should have
been trounced at the General Election but they still have 258 seats, and memories seem short.
NOW WE ARE 4! UKIP MEP JOINS THE CONSERVATIVES
On 24 May it was announced that David Campbell-Bannerman was leaving UKIP and joining the Conservative Party. He is a
former Chairman of UKIP and has been one of two UKIP MEPs for the East of England since 2009. His move means that 4 of the
East of England's 7 MEPs (see photo) are now Conservatives with just one each for Labour, LibDems and UKIP. As lead MEP for the
region I commented: “David shares our view that the EU is overblown and heading in the wrong direction. We must do all that we
can to trim its sails and steer it on a different course. We very much look forward to working with him as we continue to
champion the East of England’s interests and the British national interest in Europe. We are also particularly pleased that the
European Conservatives & Reformists Group, which I am proud to have played a key role in forming, will now become the fourth
largest political group in the Parliament.”
GREAT CONSERVATIVE SUCCESS AT THE POLLS!
Congratulations to all the Conservative candidates who won or retained their seats in the local elections - I was able to help in a number of places – pounding the streets I always find good value as it is another chance to find out directly what people are
thinking. It was fantastic to take control of North Norfolk. There was a great effort in Chelmsford, where we gained 10 new
Conservative Councillors. In Tendring we seized control of the Council with the added weight of 5 new Councillors - Harlow District
Council is back under Conservative control and in Uttlesford, 7 new Councillors reinforced what was already a strong Conservative
hold. I look forward to establishing a close working relationship with all our Conservative Councillors, helping them to deliver
strong Conservative policies across the East of England. And we shall need special effort in Ipswich and in Waveney to turn back
Labour's local gains so that they are not translated into Westminster.
NO TO AV
The East of England's resounding NO vote in the referendum was a fantastic triumph for common sense. Many people have
asked me why this expensive and irrelevant exercise took place. The simple answer is that it was in the Coalition Agreement:
"We will bring forward a Referendum Bill on electoral reform, which includes provision for the introduction of the
Alternative Vote in the event of a positive result in the referendum, as well as for the creation of fewer and more equal
sized constituencies ".
The Government has therefore fulfilled its obligation on the voting system and at the same time got agreement to reduce the
number of MPs and equalise the size of constituencies. And by the way, Essex produced the three highest NO votes nationally in
the referendum - Rochford with 79.1%, Broxbourne with 79.5% and Castle Point with 79.7% - and the East of England overall
achieved a 71% NO Vote compared with a national average of 68%. I sense both a smile and a sigh of relief.
AN URGENT NECESSITY - CUTTING THE COSTS OF THE EU
Conservatives are totally opposed to an increase in the EU budget. We consistently vote against all such proposals in
Parliament. Indeed, I am among those calling for major cuts in the budget. But we are up against the majority of other MEPs who
see any call for a reduction in EU spending as an attack on the EU’s ambitions.
The European Commission has recently requested a 4.9% increase in its budget for 2012, taking it to around £115bn (€132.7bn)
- compared with £109 billion (€126.5 billion) in 2011. According to the EU Budget Commissioner, Mr Janusz Lewandowski,“despite the climate of austerity we have to grow”. That's nonsense. And David Cameron soon made clear his feelings at PMQs on
26 April when he declared that: “The idea of a 5% increase at a time when member-states are having to make difficult
reductions is completely unacceptable and we’ll make sure it doesn’t happen.”
I recently went through the European Parliament's budgets for the last 5 years, line by line, identifying the most wasteful and
extravagant areas of spending. From this I was able to draw up a list of 15 challenging questions, which I have submitted to the
President of the Parliament through my good friend and colleague Derk Jan Eppink MEP (who sits on the Budget Control
Committee). At the same time, our think-tank, New Direction, has been commissioned to produce a study on the costs of
Parliament. We are determined to make progress on this issue.
WORLD-LEADING SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OUTSIDE CAMBRIDGE
Earlier this month I visited a world-class research institute in the outskirts of Cambridge - the European Bioinformatics Institute
(EBI) in Hinxton. Bioinformatics is the use of computers and IT systems to gather, store, analyse and merge biological data. The EBI
has a staff of 500 high-grade academics engaged in storage, retrieval and analysis of the world’s most comprehensive molecular
database, funded by over 20 nations and the EU, serving the global scientific community. This century will be all about putting
together the deluge of biological data that is increasingly available and finding answers to the great challenges of life. The
information in these databases will play a key role in tackling such important issues as disease, food security, and protection of
our environment. I am enormously impressed that such vital, international work is taking place locally. The East of England
accounted for just under 23% of the UK’s private sector research and development spending in 2010, and I remain fully
committed to channelling as much ‘EU Funding’ back into the region as possible to assist this.
CHALLENGING THE EU's AMBITIONS TO TAKE OVER OUR FOREIGN AND DEFENCE POLICY
You will recall that among the many reasons that I so vehemently opposed the Treaty of Lisbon was because it would create an
"EU Foreign Minister", backed by a string of "EU embassies" - the so-called EU External Action service (EAS). The first incumbent of
the job is the Labour apparatchik and former CND National Treasurer, Baroness Ashton. I take issue with her at every opportunity,
most recently during the plenary debate on 11 May. I have no doubt that the aim of the EAS is to erode the role of our national
embassies. In January I wrote to William Hague, strongly expressing my concerns. Now, all British diplomatic missions overseas
have been warned by the Foreign Secretary that “there is pressure from some parts of the EU machine to push competence and
we are very keen it is pushed back and clear lines are drawn”.
My concerns are not just over foreign policy but defence policy as well. I have consistently led opposition to the EU's ‘Common
Security and Defence policy’ (CSDP) - an expensive vanity project with potentially dangerous consequences. The EU constantly
tries to notch up phoney ‘military’ missions to add lustre to its CSDP narrative. We see that time and again, and the latest example
is Libya. The EU failed to get a mandate to enforce the maritime embargo on Libya - that, quite sensibly, is being carried out by
NATO under its Operation Unified Protector. Then the EU begged the UN to invite it to deliver humanitarian assistance as a
military operation under CSDP. The UN rejected this also. The message is quite clear: neither NATO nor the UN want the EU
pretending to get involved militarily. As I said in Parliament, Baroness Ashton should stop flogging the very expensive dead horse
that is EU defence policy. If the EU does want to find a useful contribution to make, it could set about delivering civilian
humanitarian aid, and helping in post-conflict reconstruction and development. The military operations should be left to others. I
am delighted that we have seen reinforcement in recent days of the vital strategic relationship between the US and Britain.
SRI LANKA
For 30 years the people of Sri Lanka suffered a terrible terrorist campaign by the LTTE, the so-called ‘Tamil Tigers’. This was
finally brought to an end in May 2009 when the Sri Lankan armed forces defeated the last remnants of the LTTE. In this final
desperate struggle, I have no doubt there was brutality and there was probably scant attention to human rights. Unfortunately
the Tamil diaspora - estimated to be 200,000 in London alone - is strongly under the influence of extremists. Over the years they
have provided not just political support but also funding, often from criminal activity, which sustained the terrorist campaign. This
month, Socialists, Communists and Greens in the European Parliament seized the opportunity given by the publication of a UN
Report on "Accountability in Sri Lanka" to whip up feelings through an urgent resolution. Now the Communists are organising a
Tamil rally.
Our view is that this activity has little to do with human rights and deliberately reinforces divisions and hatred. Instead, what is
needed is forward-looking cooperation and goodwill. I am Chairman of the informal "Friends of Sri Lanka" Group. While
supporting strong action against the terrorists, we have consistently urged the Government of Sri Lanka to be proactive in
addressing the genuine political, economic and social concerns and interests of its Tamil citizens. We have encouraged it to take
active measures in terms of political devolution so that the Tamil peoples feel reassured and will recognise the defeat of the LTTE
as a liberation and look forward to a bright and prosperous future, on equal terms with their Sinhalese fellow citizens. I have no
doubt that extremists among the Tamil community in the UK will continue to try and inflame the situation. They were at it in the
Brussels today.I have received veiled threats. This has little to do with legitimate political protest and everything to do with the
LTTE front organisations trying to cow the Tamil community and political opposition while sustaining a political base for
extremism.
PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO ASK FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ANY OF THE MANY ISSUES IN WHICH I AM ENGAGED.
I welcome invitations to speak to Conservative Associations, as well as businesses and other groups, throughout the East of England
