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		What's Old - Archived stories from the "What's New" section [  July - December 2009  |  January - June 2009  |  July - December 2008  |  January - June 2008  ] [  July - December 2007  |  January - June 2007  |  July - December 2006  |  January - June 2006  ] [  July - December 2005  |  January - June 2005  |  July - December 2004  |  January - June 2004  ] [  July - December 2003  |  January - June 2003  |  July - December 2002  |  April - June 2002  ] Labour's wind farm bias - Saturday, 27th December 2008 A new study shows that wind farm planning applications are hugely biased towards Conservative constituencies. Conservative seats are 2.7 times more likely to have wind farm applications than Labour held areas. Labour MEP defies Party - Wednesday, 17th December 2008 In a vote today in the Strasbourg parliament on the EU's Working Time Directive, the sole East Midlands Labour MEP Glenis Willmott defied her own government's policy and voted instead with her European Socialist friends. Her defiance is all the more remarkable as she is the Labour MEP Delegation Whip, responsible for Party discipline. Imperial measures safe to the pint of no return - Wednesday, 17th December 2008 The pint and mile are finally safe after the European Parliament today agreed to exclude them from EU legislation on units of measurement, following a long campaign led by Conservative MEPs. Labour MEPs must back Working Time opt-out - Tuesday, 16th December 2008 Conservatives are calling on Labour MEPs to finally drop their opposition to the UK opt-out of the Working Time Directive and back British workers and small businesses. Irish voters should not be deceived by Lisbon 'tinkering' - Monday, 15th December 2008 Responding to news that the Irish will be asked to vote again on the Lisbon Treaty, Roger Helmer, Conservative MEP for the East Midlands said this. Britain's asylum seeker policy should be set by Westminster, not Brussels - Thursday, 4th December 2008 Labour's decision to sign up to an EU-wide common asylum system could result in Westminster further losing control of Britain's borders today, after the European Commission announced proposals to modify the Common European Asylum System, the Conservative MEP for the East Midlands, Roger Helmer, said today. Equitable Life: Parliaments demand compensation - Tuesday, 2nd December 2008 The European Parliament and the UK's Parliamentary Ombudsman, Ann Abraham, came together yesterday to demand the Government provide responses to the reports produced by both institutions calling for compensation for Equitable Life policy holders. Scientists call for EU pesticides rethink - Monday, 1st December 2008 EU plans to reduce the number of plant protection products on the market could lead to pests developing new resistances, a group of scientists has warned Euro-MPs today as they presented a petition to the European Parliament. Kilroy: Time to quit! - Friday, 28th November 2008 Now that Robert Kilroy-Silk has been voted out of I’m a celebrity… Get me out of here! Regional MEPs are saying he should step down from the Parliament too. Fellow East Midlands MEP Roger Helmer says: “Now Kilroy is out of the jungle, it’s about time that the voters in the East Midlands boot him out of the Parliament too.” Labour's war on the cross-Channel shopper continues - Thursday, 20th November 2008 The European Parliament has voted to restore the limits on the amount of tobacco and alcohol that can be brought into the UK from within the single market, Roger Helmer the Conservative MEP for the East Midlands, warned today. Horse Welfare matters says MEP - Wednesday, 19th November 2008 Finally the EU has come clean and admitted that it really did have rules on straight bananas. For years, supporters of the EU have talked about straight bananas as a "euro-myth", a story so ridiculous that only bad people seeking to debunk the EU could have told such dreadful lies. Conservatives Call for Kilroy to Quit - Wednesday, 19th November 2008 While MEP and former TV personality Robert Kilroy Silk earns £15,000 in the outback for his appearance on "I'm a Celebrity -- Get Me Out of Here!", calls are growing for him to quit the European parliament. Other regional MEPs have pointed out that the real issue isn't his jungle jaunt. The real issue is that he hasn't been pulling his weight ever since he was elected in 2004. Straight Bananas - Thursday, 13th November 2008 Finally the EU has come clean and admitted that it really did have rules on straight bananas. For years, supporters of the EU have talked about straight bananas as a "euro-myth", a story so ridiculous that only bad people seeking to debunk the EU could have told such dreadful lies. MEP demands action on small business scams - Wednesday, 12th November 2008 Elected as an East Midlands UKIP MEP in 2004, TV personality Robert Kilroy-Silk soon fell out with his colleagues and attempted to launch a new party called "Veritas". This initiative soon ran into the buffers, and little has been heard of Veritas recently. MEP demands action on small business scams - Thursday, 6th November 2008 The European Parliament's petitions committee has demanded tighter national laws and more action from the European Commission to ensure small businesses are afforded greater protection from directory scams. Kilroy-Silk goes AWOL - Wednesday, 5th November 2008 It has been announced that Robert Kilroy- Silk, an East Midlands MEP, will be going into the Australian jungle as a contestant on the reality television show “I’m a celebrity… get me out of here!” Mr Kilroy-Silk, who earns over £60,000 per year as an MEP, plus expenses, will in addition be picking up a substantial fee for his appearance on the programme. Working Time: Britain's opt-out voted down by Labour MEPs - Wednesday, 5th November 2008 Conservative MEP Roger Helmer, is calling on the Labour government to give no ground to the European Parliament's employment committee, which voted this morning to scrap Britain's opt-out from the Working Time Directive. Flags on number-plates: MEP welcomes change of heart - Tuesday, 4th November 2008 Recent news stories have reported that motorists displaying national flags on their number plates, instead of the EU flag, are being stopped and fined by police, and that cars going for their MOT tests are being failed because of "illegal number plates". Many motorists choose to display the Union Jack, or the national flags of England, Scotland or Wales in preference to the EU stars. Virtual strip search concerns raised in Strasbourg - Thursday, 23rd October 2008 A proposal to introduce body scanners at European airports - which show a person's naked image and genitalia - raises serious concerns about human rights, privacy and personal dignity, says Roger Helmer the Conservative MEP for the East Midlands. New EU rules will cost jobs, says MEP - Wednesday, 22nd October 2008 The European Parliament yesterday passed a new Directive on Temporary Workers. It is claimed that this will offer temporary workers and agency workers improved rights in the workplace, but a local MEP fears it will end up costing jobs, and blocking an established route back into regular employment for those who have been temporarily out of the labour force. New timeshare directive to ensure tourists are not tripped up by rogue traders - Wednesday, 22nd October 2008 A new timeshare directive passed by MEPs today will make British holiday makers better informed and less exposed to rogue traders, Roger Helmer, the Conservative MEP for the east Midlands, said today. MEP to challenge EU on Pounds & Ounces - Tuesday, 21st October 2008 A local MEP has welcomed the British government's decision to advise councils not to prosecute traders for selling goods in Imperial measures. But he is concerned that the law is still on the statute book, and that traders selling a pound of potatoes are still committing a criminal offence, even though they may not be prosecuted. Most consumers are not concerned about buying GM foods - Thursday, 16th October 2008 Most consumers are not concerned about buying GM foods, according to a new EU study. Roger Helmer, Conservative MEP for the East Midlands, welcomed the new study on the question “Do European Consumers Buy GM Foods?” EU muddies the pirate-infested waters off Somalia - Wednesday, 15th October 2008 NATO has taken the decision to deploy its Standing Naval Maritime Group off the coast of Somalia to protect ships carrying food aid and other merchant vessels plagued by pirates. This year there have already been 71 pirate attacks in the region. New EU Climate Package will cost each household £600 per year - Tuesday, 14th October 2008 A new report from a leading think-tank says that the EU's new Climate and Energy package will cost the UK a staggering £9 billion a year, resulting on average in an extra energy cost of £600 for every home in the country. MEP calls for EU to rethink sheep tagging plans - Tuesday, 14th October 2008 Local MEP, Roger Helmer, has signed up to a campaign asking the European Union to reconsider electronic tagging of sheep, which would add considerable costs onto local farmers, and could result in the degradation of our countryside. EU anthem in the parliament: we won't stand for it - Thursday, 9th October 2008 MEPs have voted to play the EU anthem and adopt the official symbols of the union as part of a change in the parliament's rules today, but the idea has hit a low note with Conservative MEPs, the Conservative MEP for the East Midlands said. Local Man wins Tory Talent Fest - Thursday, 9th October 2008 Rupert Matthews, a Conservative euro-candidate for the East Midlands, was the winner in a light-hearted competition at the Conservative Conference in Birmingham last week. The show, "Tories Got Talent", was open to Conservatives of all backgrounds, including bloggers, writers, candidates and political assistants. Sheep tagging campaign gathers pace - Monday, 6th October 2008 The campaign to get the EU to reconsider its system of electronic tagging for sheep received a boost after European sheep farming organisations presented their findings to the European Parliament's agriculture committee today. EU reintroduces plans for compulsory vehicle daytime running lights - Wednesday, 24th September 2008 The European Commission has reintroduced plans to make Daytime Running Lights (DRLs) on all vehicles compulsory from 2011. MEP Roger Helmer said there have been concerns expressed in the past that DRLs could actually decrease road safety as they can distract a driver's attention away from unlit objects and other visual information. Roger on Sarah Palin - Thursday, 18th September 2008 Roger was interviewed by Jim Gibbons of Quadrant for CNN's coverage of the US Presidential election. Watch the interview on YouTube MEP challenges EU plan for Georgia - Monday, 15th September 2008 The Foreign Secretary has announced that the UK will contribute to a so-called EU monitoring force which will deploy to Georgia on October 1. Under an agreement signed in Moscow and Tbilisi, Russian troops are expected to withdraw from the areas of Georgia that they occupy outside of South Ossetia and Abkhazia by October 10. Strasbourg: Enough is enough, says local MEPs - Friday, 12th September 2008 As MEPs wound-up their extraordinary Brussels sitting, and news came in that the next Strasbourg session had been cancelled, local Conservative MEPs Roger Helmer and Chris Heaton-Harris are calling on Gordon Brown to make a stand in the Council of Ministers and demand the two seat operation of the parliament is finally scrapped. EU to investigate "City Guide" scam - Thursday, 17th July 2008 Businesses across the East Midlands have fallen victim to the "European City Guide" scam. They are invited to take what appears to be a free listing in a guide book. Then they start receiving bills, and a series of increasingly threatening letters, warning of court action if they fail to pay up. Many simply pay to avoid the hassle. EU pesticide rules will slash crop yields - Wednesday, 9th July 2008 The European Parliament is planning to ban a wide range of popular herbicides and pesticides currently used in agriculture. This is despite no actual evidence of harm from these products. The UK already has high standards of control of agricultural chemicals, and according to the NFU the new proposals would cause dramatic production losses without any improvement in safety. Close the European Parliament - The Irish Times - Wednesday, 9th July 2008 An article in your edition of July 7th proposes that the European Parliament should be closed. As a member of that institution, I heartily concur. Biofuels and wind power - Letter - Wednesday, 2nd July 2008 Across the East Midlands, local communities are facing up to the threat of wind farms on their doorsteps, with all the associated problems of noise, health risks, visual intrusion and housing blight. Some of the myths about wind power need to be exposed.