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SOUTH WEST FIRST

Letter From Strasbourg  September 2001

OVER TOO QUICKLY

It was a lovely summer break, all spent at home supporting the local economy and doing normal things around the house and in the garden.  It already seems a pleasant fading memory.

ENGLAND REIGNS

It was raining as I set off for the airport at crack of dawn on Monday, but on arrival in Germany the sun was shining hot through the car windows for our drive to Strasbourg.  Well, I thought, they need a bit of sunshine to ease the unexpected pain of that 5 to 1 result (yes I watched it on television with a mounting sense of unreality).

BACK INTO THE SWING

Monday afternoon was spent clearing the faxes and trying to draft a briefing note on energy policy.  I have to say trying because I have yet to finish it and this illustrates the way the time disappears during the week.  You start work on something, then a fax comes or the phone rings or someone pops in the office and not only is your train of thought stopped in its tracks, but you have to be able to switch instantly to another completely different topic.  The net result is, you deal with the things that can be done quickly and put the long read or the lengthy piece of writing to the back of the queue.

LABOUR AGENDA

For once the Group (EPP-ED or European Peoples Party-European Democracy) meeting ran out of things to discuss before the hour was up, although certain issues were waiting in the wings to come at us the next day.  In the opening session in the hemicycle (chamber), we voted down an attempt by the Socialists to keep an Urgency

Debate on Foot and Mouth Diseases   (FMD) off the agenda.  This was because the resolution referred to the failure of the UK government to handle the outbreak effectively, so Labour MEPs, at the behest of their media masters in London no doubt, persuaded fellow members of the Socialist Group (can Labour representatives be described as Socialist these days?) to attempt to manipulate matters in the European Parliament.  They failed.

QUESTIONABLE SUPPORT

On Tuesday the day begins with a meeting of fellow EPP-ED members of the Research Committee to discuss our position on the Commission proposals for the 6^th Framework Programme of European Research and the draft report by the French (6FP) socialist  Rapporteur Gerard Caudron.  We are concerned that small businesses may be disadvantaged by the desire of the Commission to support fewer, larger projects (they have had serious difficulties in the past in managing the volume of applications, let alone monitoring approved schemes, so I have some sympathy, but on the other hand we must not close the door on the sector with most innovation and flexibility).

GETTING PRIORITIES RIGHT

We also have different views about the thematic areas of research i.e. the actual topics listed to be worked on.  For example, my special area of interest is energy and this does not appear to have been given sufficient priority.  Fortunately, most colleagues agree with this view, so I am charged with responsibility for drafting amendments.  Another area of interest is aerospace, wearing my hat as First Vice-President of the newly re-established Ciel & Espace Intergroup (Sky and Space or Aerospace for short), where the industry is already lobbying hard for more spending than the €1bn proposed by the Commission.  Now we hear the rapporteur has proposed a 10% cut in budget, which is surprising from a Frenchman.

SHARING INFORMATION

Later in the morning we have a discussion among Conservative spokesmen about the overall evolution of issues and policies at the European level.  I realise I am fortunate not to have responsibility for any of the many, more contentious, areas as my already heavy workload could expand dramatically.  We deal with a huge range of topics, each of us depends on the others to cover their own bit and keep us briefed because there is not time enough to read up on it all.  I have to slip out of the meeting, once it is clear that there won't be anything substantive they want to discuss in my policy areas, so I can look in on the British Chamber of Commerce in Belgium seminar in a nearby room.  They have a session on energy policy and I was invited both as Conservative spokesman and as Rapporteur for the Security of Supply of Energy in Europe.  Just as well I was able to show my face, there was a Labour and a German Socialist colleague already there.

UNSOLICITED EMAILS

In the afternoon I chair our routine co-ordination meeting for EPP-ED members of the Industry, External Trade, Research & Energy Committee (to give it the full title), where we have an exchange about the Cappato Report by the Civil Liberties Committee on email privacy and data protection issues.  The core issue is opt in or opt out, namely should commercial interests have to ask if you are willing to receive unsolicited emails and messages to your mobile phone (opt-in), or should the onus be on the individual to contact the businesses to say he or she does not wish to be contacted (opt-out).

MIXED OPINIONS

Our Committee had submitted an opinion but our views had been disregarded by the main Committee when they should have been incorporated under the particular procedure  used, called enhanced Hughes procedure. Views are split and, in the event, key amendments are adopted in plenary, which favour opt-in while the largest final vote was abstentions, so the whole issue was referred back to  Committee.  Perhaps technology will have produced a solution by the time we come to vote again.  I am reminded of a comment made by my mother 'if I knew who was phoning, I could decide whether I want to answer'.

WALKING A TIGHTROPE

After this it is off to our UK Delegation of Conservative MEPs for an exchange of views with Peter Hain MP the new Minister for Europe.  We have a little innocent sport with him on the question of digging up rugby pitches, before going on to the altogether more serious plight of white farmers and their black workers in Zimbabwe.  What is happening in that country is deeply depressing, yet it seems all we can do is wring our hands in case more resolute action gives Mugabe the excuse to unleash more thuggery and violence.  We raised a wide range of questions from the need for more ministers in the Council to attend conciliation meetings (not just the President in Council) with the European Parliament, to nuclear fusion and the status of ITER (the next demonstration fusion reactor).

A GOOD TRY

After that we voted on which venue in the UK to recommend for EPP-ED study days in 2002.  The Scots

mounted a powerful bid for Edinburgh which eventually won the day but I would like it known I made a determined pitch for Bournemouth on behalf of the South West.  I am pleased to say we gained five votes but curious to know who supported in addition to we four Conservative South West MEPs.  Bournemouth received as many votes as London, by the way.

TIME FOR REFLECTION

In the evening in the Group meeting there were two matters which raised passions.  First came a plea from the Spanish colleagues that we support the Watson Report on combating terrorism.  It became apparent that we Conservatives had reservations about the detailed proposals for such measures as Europe wide search and arrest powers and abolishing extradition requirements between European states.  The Spanish are understandably very hot on anti-terrorism and take an all or nothing view which led to them accusing us of being in favour of  terrorism if we did anything but vote for this report.  We found ourselves under pressure to fall in line in a way which made me reflect on when does pressure become intimidation, when does that turn into terrorism and was it not the use of force to achieve political aims that we  were all opposed to in the first place.  At any rate, I kept such thoughts to myself and we agreed to vote in favour with a strong explanation of vote, so as to avoid inflaming the situation.  I would add, that as a result of all this, I am even more pleased to be going to Gibraltar, as the guest of their government, to participate in their Gibraltar Day celebrations!

DISCUSSIONS CONTINUE

The other debate was about opt in versus opt-out and many colleagues on both sides of the argument waded in with their views.  I have already mentioned the outcome of the vote, but what was interesting

was the way the divide in opinion crossed national lines and also applied within our Conservative ranks.  After that I attended a dinner hosted by Eurospace which was making a pitch for part of the 6FP Research Budget under the aerospace thematic area.

NO INCREASE IN THE BUDGET

On Wednesday I attend the initial meeting of the Ciel and Espace Intergroup which is well attended by MEPs from five or six Member States as well as industry figures.  The theme is the yet again 6FP of research with a chap from the Commission, the new Director General (Roger Hawksworth) of AECMA, the European association of aerospace industries, and Gerard Caudron the Rapporteur.  The Commission fellow gave a very general introduction, the AECMA man a heavy pitch for more money in the budget and the Rapporteur made a blunt explanation of how the overall budget was very unlikely to increase so if one sector gets more, another gets less (the underlying message was be grateful for what you have been allocated).

RESTRICTED POWERS

On Thursday morning on my way to

my office in the Parliament, I bump into Derek Robinson from the UK Atomic Energy Authority who is out lobbying about the nuclear fusion budget part of the 6FP on behalf of JET the Joint European Tories fusion project.  Their share of the Euratom nuclear part of the 6FP has been cut in the Commission proposals.  I am sympathetic because fusion has huge, long-term potential but in practical terms we MEPs are out of the decision making process because Euratom is inter-governmental and the European Parliament does not have co-decision powers.

LATERAL THINKING

Later in the morning I have a meeting with Bill Stow who is the deputy permanent UK Representative to the EU.  Most of our discussions focussed on the 6FP, again, and the areas where UK interests call for more priority and more budget such as aerospace, fusion and access for SMEs.  We seem to be thinking along the same lines so that's alright then!

BUSY SCHEDULE

Over lunch we have our regular CEE (Conservative Enterprise Europe) meeting to talk about our appearing in numbers at the CBI Conference in November; the provisional dates and sponsors for the EFE (Enterprise First Europe) programme of dinner discussion in 2002; the publications and briefs we are working to produce by the Party Conference; issues coming up which affect our business and industry sector such as the vexed matters of the block exemption from competition law for the motor trade.

WINNING TEAM

In the afternoon a number of us sit in on the urgency debate on FMD in support of our Agriculture Spokesman Robert Sturdy MEP who had pulled off the tricky business of getting enough support across the political groups for a text deemed by Labour to be deeply critical of Mr Blair and his Government, judging by the efforts they made to suppress the urgency and then rubbish it in debate.  They failed, and we won the vote later.

THE DUST SETTLES

Moving on from that small but satisfying point scored over our opponents, I want to say something about the political scene at home.  Last summer I was ticked off by a councillor for not mentioning the County Election results in the South West when I was doing my bit of mea culpa at getting the result of the General Election wrong.  As it happens, I did not mention them because I wanted the dust to settle and have time to analyse the figures

a bit.  Part of the summer break was spent gathering statistics so as to make a comparison with 1997 and to see if any encouraging conclusions could be drawn (I prefer to write about good news for us where possible).  Now seems a better time to take a look and remedy my apparent earlier omission.

INCREASING OUR SHARE

By my reckoning 343 county seats or wards were contested across the South West.  Conservatives won 133 which constitutes a net gain of 37 over the 1997 results or an increase of 38.5%.  The Lib Dems won 128, a net loss of 39 over 1997 or a reduction of 23.35%.  I haven't had the time to add up all the votes cast to show actual figures and swing for the region, because only one county sent me all the numbers for 2001 and 1997.  As an indication, in that one county, we increased our share of vote by just over 4%, while the Lib Dems share dropped by just over 5%.

RECOVERY CONTINUES

This represents a very different picture from the General Election results for votes cast on the same day and gives the mixed message that our recovery at local level seen in District and Unitary elections in the last couple of years is continuing, despite our terrible performance in the national elections.  There were some fascinating results with very large swings within the overall picture, but these were for example,

a)       where the same candidate changed from a party label to independent or vice versa between 1997 and 2001

b)      where tactical voting either reversed itself or occurred

c)      where one party fielded a candidate in 2001 when they did not in 1997

TIMING IS EVERYTHING

Had these elections fallen in the middle of a parliamentary term, then we would probably have done

much better, as we did in the European Parliament elections and the District and Unitary elections mentioned already, without the negative effect of being dragged down by our national campaign in the General Election.

LOOK TO THE FUTURE

So my first conclusion is that recovery of our fortunes is under way at local level and we are rebuilding our political base by increasing the number of Conservative councillors.  I think this is vital for the future both because it shows we are restoring our credibility at local level and because it strengthens our organisation.  I believe that councillors are a very important part of our overall party effort which is one reason why I try to include all our Conservative Councillors in the mailing list for this newsletter.  Winning council seats, re-taking control and showing how Conservative common sense and value for money makes for good administration, paves the way for re-establishing our credentials at national level.

POSITIVE BELIEFS

   GILES CHICHESTER MEP