On European elections debates across Britain

With only one week to go now before polling day for the UK's local and European elections of 2014, I felt it prudent today to be a Green Party audience guest at a BBC Three Counties Radio (which covers the counties of Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Hertfordshire) which took place at the Forum, at the University of Hertfordshire where I am about to graduate from.

The speakers were Geoffrey van Orden (Conservative MEP), Richard Howitt (Labour MEP), Linda Jack (6th on the Liberal Democrats' list for the East of England region), Rupert Read (prospective Green MEP), and Patrick O'Flynn (prospective UKIP MEP).

I am pleased to say at said radio debate that it was myself and my fellow Greens who managed to ask the more important questions in this debate; I myself asked the five speakers their opinions on the threatened TTIP. Linda (Lib Dems) stumbled over it and misleadingly claimed TTIP was about US investment in Europe, Richard (Labour) tried to defend Labour's record of opposing the inclusion of the NHS and ISDS in the treaty, Patrick (UKIP) was only opposed to it because of the EU element, and Geoffrey (Conservative) defended it in short. Rupert (Green) thankfully exposed the TTIP to the audience for what it really is-a corporate power grab by multinational corporations and lobbyists which could spell the end for publicly owned services and democratic checks on corporate power. By the way, I give my solidarity to those people who were wrongly arrested whilst protesting about talks on the TTIP taking place in Brussels earlier today.

I hope this will work out well next week when we all come out to vote on 22 May. By the way, Buckinghamshire, included in BBC Three Counties Radio's remit, should be in the Eastern Region, not the South East region, as none of Buckinghamshire is actually south of London geographically (whereas the other counties in the South East electoral region are actually south of Greater London). Also, if any you are Greens who were at a radio debate or other live debate regarding European elections elsewhere in the UK, please share your story and your thoughts on it with me :)

Alan.





 

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