As you can imagine, trying to get the local media interested in writing about the Euro elections has been as easy as persuading Gordon Brown to audition for Britain’s Got Talent.
But now and again journalists come up trumps with their creativity on this very dry – if not scandalous – subject.
I was particularly impressed by the cracking idea and research carried out by BBC Three Counties Radio, which covers Herts, Beds and Bucks. I can understand why this topic is tricky for them as their patch covers two regions – a vast area.
Their producer Paul Scoins told me they planned to ask residents of Brussels Way, Luton to provide questions for their MEPs. They wrote to 130 residents, but only had a couple of replies. Undeterred, they then drove to the street and knocked on their doors – good, old fashioned journalism – and found enough Brussels Way residents to speak to them on this issue.
Here is a link to the interviews with residents of Brussels Way who share the same apathy and concerns expressed by many voters around the country.
I know my MEP Robert Sturdy enjoyed the interview with the radio station this morning. Let’s hope the listeners did too…
*BBC Three Counties covers Luton where the town’s good folk are still waiting for Esther Rantzen to decide if she will contest Luton South now that Labour’s disgraced Margaret Moran is going to stand down at the next general election.
The diary column in last night’s London Evening Standard reported that Richard Ingrams, former Private Eye Editor, is considering standing against her because he claims “she’s the world’s greatest expert on expenses and freebies”.
Ingrams, who now edits The Oldie, states that the BBC expenses culture is not so different from that of parliament and involves larger sums of money provided by the taxpayer in the form of licence fees.
He suggests that any political opponent might feel tempted to investigate Esther’s previous career at the BBC, and in particular how she and her late husband, Desmond Wilcox, managed to bypass the BBC rule that husband and wife should not be allowed to work in the same department.
You know what they say about he who casts the first stone…
You know my opinion on the EU. It is a juggernaut that you can’t stop – the only choice is to stay on or jump off and I elect for the latter as do the majority of people I know.
The apathy in politics is born of the fact that whichever way one votes the government wins – that goes for the British Parliament as well as the EU.
A month ago I attempted to start a campaign of spoiling ballot papers on Thursday’s election on the basis that to vote seriously for any candidate (even UKIP) is to legitimise the EU by default. This is not a wasted vote – it is political activism. I’m glad to see that at least one prominent journalist is now promoting this tactic too as of yesterday – well done Richard Littlejohn.
I say again – I believe that the EU is illigitimate because the British people have not had the right to vote on it.
EU expenses make our parliament look like small change.
I believe Ingrams tho..