Ed Miliband’s election as Labour leader has brought closer links with the party’s representatives at EU level, with a seat at the Shadow Cabinet table for Glenis Willmott, leader of Labour’s 13-strong group in the European Parliament.
The MEP for the East Midlands region, who is a former GMB officer, was at the first Downing Street meeting on October 12 and plans to get to the weekly meetings as frequently as her European parliamentary duties allow. “It will make a big difference to our work”, she says. “It’s important in terms of working together as a team and getting to know the Shadow Cabinet members personally. Already we are being asked for briefings on issues that are coming up – and we probably wouldn’t have been in the past.”
The difference is that Ed Miliband “gets Europe”, says Willmott. “He is more open and understands the day-to-day work we do here. He has made a clear commitment to working more in partnership with MEPs. In the past, we often felt sidelined, but he wants to co-operate with us and see how we can push for progressive polices.”
There are numerous aspects of European policy that impact on people in Britain, insists the EPLP leader, from foreign affairs to protection for pregnant workers. The last Labour Government may not have fully understood the potential, especially on social issues. “Look at immigration. Often, the question on the doorstep is more about people’s fears of somebody taking their job. But there could be European solutions that would help.
“The lesson from the Lindsey oil refinery wasn’t about the Portuguese and Italian workers, but British workers were not being interviewed. It was the inherent unfairness of the situation. If you’ve got open borders and open markets, you also need protection for people to make sure they are not exploited – and that goes for the workforce at home.”
In light of the coalition’s plan to create savings through slashing public sector jobs and welfare services, it is all the more important to offer people in Britain the prospect of an upturn in growth and jobs over the next few years, through the EU’s new 2020 strategy, says Willmott.
She predicts that Shadow Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will come to Brussels soon to talk to MEPs and key EU players. She hopes this will be the first step towards a more positive approach to Europe, not only within the Labour leadership but also among party members.
“If Ed Miliband is giving the right signals from the top, they will work their way down. He’s not going to pretend that Europe is something we don’t want to speak about. If the leadership is constantly talking about going to Brussels to fight battles, then people are going to be Eurosceptic. If they see we’ve got a good relationship and are working together they’ll be more positive.
“We need focus on how we get the sort of policies we want in the UK onto the agenda in Brussels. We will also be monitoring what the Tories and Lib Dems do in Europe, and where the splits are occurring. We will give the Shadow Cabinet whatever help we can.
“It’s a really positive start”, concludes Willmott. “Ed Miliband made a commitment to us before his election and he has kept it.
I think the Conservatives have grossly underestimated him.”
