Amicus Magazine, June 2004

As an Amicus Labour MEP I'm proud of the way that our union has enabled hundreds of trade unionists to access postal voting for the upcoming elections on June 10th.

Amicus is one of the key unions in the UK and in the EU ensuring that the benefits of EU legislation are applied to trade union members and their families. This is only one compelling reason why Amicus members, their families, friends and colleagues should turn out and vote in the European elections. Members will have seen Jean-Marie Le Penn, the leader of the French National Front and an MEP coming to the UK to drum up support for the BNP. It is a clear warning from your MEPs in the European Parliament that a low turnout in key regions particularly in the North West could see the election of Britain's first Fascist MEP. This would open to them some political respectability and enable them to build alliances with far-right parties in the European Parliament who unfortunately receive public money for their racist and xenophobic activities. Turn out is key. Only 60% of the 18-24 age group are even registered to vote with over 55s twice as likely to vote, but turnout amongst all age groups if rock bottom can by default let the far-right win in the UK for the first time in a national election.

But it is not just fear and concern which should drive our efforts for greater turnout less apathy, it is the realisation that trade union members and their families are clearly benefiting from EU legislation. In the past five years alone Labour MEPs have been involved in the Information and Consultation Directive, the European Works Councils, new rights for agency workers, many examples of health and safety legislation and groundbreaking anti-discrimination laws to protect various groups at work, covering age, race, disability, sexual orientation and religion. There are benefits too across a whole range of consumer, regional funding, environmental, public health, and industrial issues. In the next five years with a bigger vote for Labour MEPs contributing to a strong socialist group in the European Parliament it will be easier to achieve the laws which Amicus members want to see delivered.

The message is clear, the daily denigration of the EU and the European Parliament in many newspapers and the difficulty which many people have in making the connection between what MEPs do in the European Parliament and positive effects on the ground are hard to make clear. But we have to make every effort to get the message across. The European Parliamentary Labour Party have produced excellent materials on myth busting about Europe and we have set out in an attractive and accessible form what the achievements are. You can see these documents at www.eurolabour.org.uk

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