Green Party leader Natalie Bennett and Jean Lambert MEP coming to Muswell Hill, Sat 5th April

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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on April 1, 2014 at 17:18

Right, we'll all come up from Harringay to see them then. On the bus of course.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Henderson on April 1, 2014 at 17:19

Note I have posted this correctly in "Borough-wide & from Other Local Areas" :)

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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on April 1, 2014 at 17:29

So the 141 then.

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Permalink Reply by Germana on April 1, 2014 at 17:56

I"m not a member of any political party, but as someone who works a lot on EU issues I would like to say that the Greens do really great work in the European Parliament - not just on the environment of course. They are a very crucial force there, that really makes a difference, and they often work with the most progressive parts of the other political groups - including socialists, conservatives and liberal democrats (and there are great MEPs elected in the UK from all of those parties, to be fair), to amend proposals from the European Commission for the better. 

Thanks for letting us know about the opportunity to meet Jean Lambert and Natalie Bennett by the way. I am not sure if I can make it but I think people in general should not miss an opportunity to meet their MEPs - you wouldn't know this from the appalling media coverage of EU issues in this country but they really do work on stuff that affects us all. 

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Permalink Reply by Philip on April 1, 2014 at 19:38

Its rare for people even to know any of their MEPs(in London the Euro voting system defies explanation) and I say though I am not a committed Green voter, that Jean is one of very few MEPs who had taken the trouble to respond to my communications and actually say what her position is. Don't know about the future after this election, but I will certainly vote for her this time around.

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Permalink Reply by Germana on April 2, 2014 at 8:56

In my experience most MEPs (with a few exceptions...for example I would not bother with UKIP) quite like being contacted by constituents and are transparent and responsive, in fact much more so than the average Westminster politician.

MEPs tend to get a huge amount of correspondence by business lobbies - who know perfectly well how important the European Parliament is and how it makes crucial decisions - while members of the public are unaware of their rights thanks in part to the media ignoring this institution, or even making up stuff about it. And yes - even though I am always cautious about this because I work for non profits who are not party political - yes, Jean Lambert is among the best MEPs we have and without the Greens the EU would be much less people friendly and even more in the hands of narrow business lobby interests than it is. In these days when there is so much cynicism about politicians I believe in giving credit when it's due.

You can find out more about UK MEPs (and how to contact them + links to their twitter feeds which will tell you a lot about them!) here: http://www.europarl.org.uk/en/your_meps.html

You can find more about how to vote in the European elections (this may warrant a separate thread as it's focused on EU citizens in the UK, but useful for UK citizens too- will do so later):  http://vote2014uk.org.uk

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Permalink Reply by Philip on April 2, 2014 at 10:43

It may be that while working for an organisation you are glad handed by MEPs, my experience is the exact opposite. I have contacted London MEPs on a number of occasions regarding a number of issues( I think they have a right to be asked) and only 3 at most even bother to acknowledge receipt of my question. People might be surprised at the positions their MEPs hold on issues that they can actually affect. Those who have responded to me over the years have included those who support Israels illegal occupation of the West Bank and favoured trading status for Israel , support for privatisation etc. Regardless of your politcal views, I suggest you use 'contact them'. Ask them a question or make a point and ask for their opinion or record. If you are lucky, you will just be referred to a website. I would suggest that for those who do not respond, you draw a line thru their name.

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Permalink Reply by Germana on April 2, 2014 at 11:12

That's a fair point - I have to admit I have never contacted MEPs as a citizen so I wouldn't know. Of course MEPs are far from perfect (in fact I have met a couple who were downright rude to me - one was a LibDem and another Conservative but I've had good experiences with others from the same parties). And yes, many will have views that may surprise you - which is why following them (and the candidates for this year) on twitter may be a good idea if you use it. Or meeting them, when given a chance.

In general, I wonder whether MEPs may be more responsive if you contact them about an issue they are working on. The hard working ones can get very busy as they genuinely have to engage and vote on extremely complex issues, plus they travel a lot between their constituency, Brussels and Strasbourg. Which doesn't of course justify ignoring people or being rude. 

For example, on climate change, here is a useful article that explains what MEPs have been up to and why our vote in May is crucial. 

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