It’s been a long time since I’ve been asked as many searching questions as I had from a group of Lewisham women taking part in an advocacy training programme for older people sponsored by the Capital Community Foundation. Organised by Pauline Morrison, an old friend from my time in Lewisham, the group met in the European Parliament office in London at 2 Queen Anne’s [...]
Filed under: Labour Party | Tagged: Capital Community Foundation, Pauline Morrison | 1 Comment »
It would be quite remiss of me not to comment on Nigel Farage’s latest attempt to garner publicity in the run-up to the General Election. In a pathetic and offensive attempt to get himself noticed, the co-chair of the European Freedom and Democracy Group yesterday launched an unprecedented personal attack on the new President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy. [...]
Filed under: Labour Party | Tagged: BBC Radio 4, belgium, Cathy Ashton, European Freedom and Democracy, european parliament, Herman van Rompuy, Jerzy Buzek, Nigel Farage, President of the European Council, President of the European Parliament, Speaker John Bercow, Today Program, UKIP | 9 Comments »
It is an annual pleasure to attend Westminster North MP Karen Buck’s magnificent fundraising dinner. It has found a spiritual home at the Phoenix Palace restaurant in Marylebone. Word has spread far and wide and tickets sold out weeks ago. Karen commends a strong personal loyalty from both activists and constituents. Arriving early I had the [...]
Filed under: Labour Party | Tagged: David Miliband, Florence Nosegbe, Helen Hegarty, Jane Roberts, Karen Buck, Mathew Taylor, Murad Qureshi, Paul Dimoldenberg, Phoenix Palace Restaurant, Westminster Labour Party | Leave a Comment »
Yesterday in the Culture and Education Committee we held a hearing called “Europe’s Universities – Responses and Challenges” which focussed on how best Universities can equip young people with the skills the need to get good jobs once they graduate. We had four speakers come to give presentations to the committee who were all very [...]
Filed under: Labour Party | Tagged: Culture and Education Committee, Erasmus, EU, Florian Kaiser, GDP, Leonardo, Professor Sir Howard Newby, Universities | Leave a Comment »
Since the Lisbon Treaty, the European Parliament has been given extra powers in the area of sport, with the Culture and Education Committee taking the lead. So, yesterday in a meeting of the coordinators from each political group we decided that we should table an oral question with a debate about one of the more [...]
Filed under: Labour Party | Tagged: Culture and Education Committee, EU, european commission, european parliament, football, Paul Stretford, Player's Agents, the Lisbon Treaty, Wayne Rooney | Leave a Comment »
This week sees the launch of the largest group in the European Parliament, the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) (EPP), previously known as the European People’s Party-European Democrats. It is a group which, like the others, is made up of many successful women who come from numerous walks of life and have enjoyed a variety of [...]
Filed under: Labour Party | Tagged: Christina Gutiérrez-Cortines, Danuta Maria Hübner, European People's Party, International Women's Day, Monica Luisa Macovei, Sandra Kalniete, Sari Essayah, Women in Power | Leave a Comment »
Nick Smith will make a brilliant MP. I have known Nick as an excellent Camden councillor as well as General Secretary of the European Parliamentary Labour Party. Above all I know and have worked with Nick as a campaigner. I have canvassed with him across London in all sorts of elections, and he has briefed [...]
Filed under: Labour Party | 3 Comments »
Having set myself the task of reading the Man Booker shortlist, I am now in the embarrassing position of having only blogged on the winner. “Wolf Hall” was a gripping book made even better by author Hilary Mantel’s thorough grasp on Tudor England. I fully intend to get round to writing about the others, and [...]
Filed under: Labour Party | Tagged: Adam Foulds, Man Booker Prize, The Quickening Maze | Leave a Comment »
I feel compelled today to write a response to one reader’s comment on my blog ‘Majority of Conservative MEPs oppose greater Gender Equality‘. In this instance, I want to reply to the commenter’s refutation that the Tories are opposed to the advancement of gender equality, and that the ECR’s rejection of the 2009 ‘Report on equality between men and women in [...]
Filed under: Labour Party | 2 Comments »
