Lib Dem MEP Martin Horwood was cheered in the European Parliament today as he gave his maiden speech, saying that Brexit was not inevitable and asking that the EU continue its policy of patience with our Government which, he waist, was acting like it was in Mr Bean or Monty Python.
https://twitter.com/MartinChelt/status/1146754515938529281
Great to see our MEPs getting off to such a brilliant start and to hear that they are clearly held in so much affection by their European colleagues.
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
3 Comments
Well said Martin, and it’s good to see you in a parliament again where you belong.
I thought Ann Widdecombe possibly couldn’t shock me, but her ‘slavery’ speech today – and the way those idiots around her reacted – really was appalling.
BREXIT – UK Members of Parliament do not know what they Vote For and ‘Why’ They ‘Never’ get it right, not even when a Majority of 17.4 million British voters wanted it and voted for it – https://worldinnovationfoundation.blogspot.com/2019/03/brexit-uk-members-of-parliament-who-do.html
After the merger of the former Liberal Party and the SDP all policies needed to be decided by the new party. On the first day that the federal conference met there was a debate about slavery. It seemed likely to pass, but there were numerous, well informed, passionate speeches.
There have also been frequent exposures by media of well known retailers trading in the UK importing from countries where laws, and/or the enforcement of laws are, shall we say, disappointing.
Serfdom in Tsarist Russia was clearly slavery.
There is a need to free the oppressors and the oppressed.
For instance campaigns to end the North Atlantic slave trade needed to gain the support of the friends and families of merchant sailors.
The money that the USA paid for the huge Louisiana Purchase was wanted by Napoleon Bonaparte to finance the attempted suppression of a rebellion by slaves in the Caribbean.
The Spanish and Portuguese empires traded slaves across the South Atlantic.
Theresa May is proud of the Modern Slavery Act.
The next PM can expect questions about the effectiveness of enforcement.
The sufferers are often drawn from the most vulnerable people.