Roger Helmer MEP

Some time ago an organisation called “Unlock Democracy” (part-funded as usual by the European Commission) invited me to take part in a panel discussion on immigration at their “People and Politics Day” in Westminster Central Hall on March 18th, and I agreed to do so.  Just a couple of days before the event, their organiser Kate Egglestone (who struck me as extremely agreeable and efficient) called to ask if I would also agree to appear an hour earlier on their “EU Governance” panel.  Of course I agreed.  The day was attended by some 1700 16-to-19 year olds, and was designed to “complement citizenship education classes”.
 
I found myself on the platform with Graham Watson MEP (Lib), who leads the Liberals in the European parliament; Richard Corbett (Lab), who co-wrote the parliament’s report on the Lisbon Treaty; Paul Stephenson of Open Europe; and Robert Moreland, a former Conservative MEP (Staffordshire, 1979/84).
 
Mr. Moreland is one of the dying breed of Conservative europhiles.  He became a member of the European Economic and Social Committee in 1986, and a member of the London Europe Society, becoming its Deputy Chairman in 1997 and Chairman in 2000. He has also been treasurer of the European Movement from 2003.
 
Just before we were due to go on, I overheard him berating the charming Kate Egglestone.  He had not known that he would have to share a platform with “another Conservative”.  He had not been told.  He was not prepared to criticise another Conservative.  He rejected Kate’s offered apology in brusque terms — “Sorry is not good enough”.  However having got it off his chest, he went ahead with the panel, and we each managed to avoid attacking the other.
 
Judging by the audience reaction, there is a eurosceptic mood about amongst 16 to 19 year olds.  The biggest applause came when I rebutted claims from Richard Corbett that the Lisbon Treaty was really quite different from the failed Constitution, and did not justify a referendum.  I quoted Angela Merkel’s idea of “cosmetic changes with the same legal effect”.
 
After the EU Governance panel, the Immigration event was to take place in the same hall, so I stayed in place.  But poor Kate had been having more trouble with her speakers.  She approached me looking very diffident, to say that there had been complaints about me doing two panels (although at the organisers’ invitation), and would I mind awfully not doing immigration?  I have no idea who made these complaints, but I do know that Timothy Kirkhope MEP (a former immigration minister) had been booked on the same panel, and I suspect that he was as surprised to see me as I was to see him.
 
I thought that Kate had taken enough stick for one afternoon, so I agreed to retire gracefully.  In any case, I am much more interested in talking about EU governance than about immigration.  So I set off to Euston for an earlier train, reflecting that for MEPs, most days are people and politics days.