My Work What do your MEPs do?
My work in the European Parliament breaks down into several areas:
Labour Spokesperson on Employment and Social Affairs
As Labour spokesperson on the Parliament's
Employment and Social Affairs Committee I work with other MEPs to
promote legislation and a better deal for the UK on areas as diverse as
employment policy, regeneration and regional funding, health and safety
at work, combating discrimination on the grounds of age, gender,
disability and race and consultation on the future of pensions and
social security. This includes a "link" role with appropriate ministers
at the DTI and the Department for Work and Pensions. For more
information on the Employment and Social Affairs committee visit
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/empl_home_en.htm
Member of European Parliament Civil Liberties, Justice & Home Affairs Committee
As a member of the Parliament's Civil Liberties,
Justice and Home Affairs Committee and with a human rights campaigning
background I work on positive solutions to key issues like drugs policy
in the UK and in the EU, asylum and immigration, and I've written widely on the rise of the far-right in Europe.
Please see the articles section of this website and you may wish to
visit the sites of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and
Xenophobia at www.eumc.eu.int, the European Council on Refugees and Exiles at www.ecre.org, the Refugee Council at www.refugeecouncil.org.uk, the European Network Against Racism at www.enar-eu.org and Blink (Black Information Link) - the 1990 Trust's interactive site for Black communities- at www.blink.org.uk for more information.
Click here for my recent briefing on Migration and Freedom of Movement in the EU.
Working for London Constituents
It's a privilege to represent Londoners in Europe. Here I work actively with NGOs, voluntary groups,
business organisations, pensioners' groups, trade unions and other
elected representatives across the capital. I have a heavy caseload
from surgeries and by post and email. I specialise in regeneration and
structural funding issues - including ESF and new EQUAL funding in our
city. Please visit the Association of London Government website at www.alg-europe.gov.uk and the website of London House (the home of the GLA and London Mayor in Brussels) at www.london.gov.uk/london_house for more information on London and EU funding.
For an article I've written on EU funding and voluntary organisations, please see the 'Articles' section of the website.
I have also welcomed many groups of London constituents to the Brussels and Strasbourg sites of the European Parliament to see the work of MEPs.
Membership of the European Parliament Temporary Inquiry into Allegations of CIA Activity in the European Union
I was appointed a member of the Committee which
will examine allegations of rendition flights, detention facilities,
and other covert activity which may have aided the illegal detention
and torture of terror suspects. This inquiry is an attempt to
get to the truth of allegations
already examined by the Council of Europe and of great concern to many
Europeans, including many of my London constituents who believe that
torture is unacceptable and that human rights standards need to be
maintained by the European Union even in the most difficult
international circumstances. The Committee's final report was voted on by the European Parliament as a whole in February 2007. See the 'News & Media' section of the website, or my February 2007 'Strasbourg Round-Up' eNewsletter for more.
Working on Key EU Issues
The future of EU governance after the French and
Dutch referendums in 2005, the Euro, and Enlargement, the allocation of
EU Structural funds, social cohesion, health, transport, and the
environment are the subject of regular meetings and debates that I
attend across London and beyond.
Work on International Development
This includes South Africa, access to medicines and fair trade. I am currently a member of the Parliament's delegations to South Africa and the Gulf Region and Yemen and take an active interest in EU relations with India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. See the European Parliament's site at www.europarl.eu.int and the website of medicine san frontier at www.msf.org for resolutions and information on these issues. You may also like to visit the sites of the World Development Movement at www.wdm.org.uk, War on Want at www.waronwant.org and Action for Southern Africa at www.actsa.org for more information.
Speaking in Parliament including questions to the European Commission and Council of Ministers
In the European Parliament, I regularly ask
written and oral questions of the European Commission and Council and
speak in plenary sessions. These can be found at http://www.europarl.europa.eu/.
In the 1999-2004 parliamentary session I asked 105 questions on
subjects ranging from health issues like the prevalence of child asthma
and pollution in London, to environmental waste disposal to human rights issues and structural funds.
Click here to find the Parliamentary Questions I have tabled to the European Commission and the Council.
Click here to read my speeches in the European Parliament.
Parliamentary Reports
In the European Parliament I write reports (called
being a 'Rapporteur'), opinions and I am Shadow Rapporteur on some key
reports. In the current Parliamentary term (2004-2009) I have been a
Rapporteur or Shadow Rapporteur for the European Parliament on the
following reports:
President of European Parliament All Party Group on Anti-Racism and Diversity
I am President of the Anti-Racism and Diversity
Intergroup which is an All Party Group tackling issues from the
situation of the Roma to anti-discrimination on race, religion and
ethnicity through to issues of equality in culture and the media.
This is a positive group emphasising the achievements of ethnic
minority Europeans as well as the battles we have to fight. The
group includes key ethnic minority MEPs elected for the first time to
the European Parliament in 2004.
Click here for the Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup website >>
Co-President of European Parliament's All Party Group on Ageing and Older People's Issues
I am active on issues from grassroots pensioner
campaigns to the EU priority of seeking solution to the demographic
"time bomb" of the ageing working-age population and the future of
pensions. Please see my European Parliament Report on Immigration and Employment and the website of AGE (The European Older People's Platform) and Age Concern.
More links:
I try to ensure that my website is regularly updated so that you can see what I have been saying and writing as your MEP.
For information on my work in the parliamentary session 1999-2004 click here >>
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Summary file INI/2004/2121 >>
