Campaign update blog

With just a few days to go until Election Day here's a quick update from the last few weeks.

Hundreds of Labour activists are busy campaigning across the East Midlands ahead of Thursday's elections. Thank you to everyone who is helping with our campaign. In recent weeks it has been good to join our campaign teams in Bassetlaw, Chesterfield, Lincoln, Erewash, Nottingham, Leicester, South Leicestershire, Buxton, Derby and Northampton.

We have also held local launch events for the final stages of our campaign. There is coverage of the events here from BBC Derby and the Leicester Mercury. 

Campaign launch in Northampton.

Campaign launch at Leicester's Clock Tower.
Photo: Will Johnston/ Leicester Mercury

Campaign launch in Nottingham.

On 28 April I joined local trade union officials and activists at the annual Workers Memorial Day event in Leicester's Town Hall Square. This is an important event and reminds us of the importance of effective health and safety laws and the need for those laws to be enforced.

It was good to join the annual Vaisakhi celebrations in Leicester including the wonderful Nagar Kirtan Parade. It was good to see so many people at the parade and celebrations at local Gurdwaras and to catch up with the Leicester Sikh Alliance and other local organisations. Many people have asked for my views on recent revelations regarding British Government and the massacre at the Amritsar Golden Temple in 1984. My view is that there should be an independent and judge-led inquiry carried out transparently, with key documents to be made public. A timetable for such an inquiry should be set out as quickly as possible.

Serving Langar with Jon Ashworth MP
at Guru Tegh Bahadur in Leicester.

It was also good to be at the annual Artisan Cheese Fair in Melton, which was again a brilliant celebration and showcase of local food producers. I have written before about my commitment, if elected, to champion the East Midlands' food and drink industry. 

With Matthew O'Callaghan at the Melton Mowbray
Artisan Cheese Fair.

Finally, with just a few days until Polling Day here's a blog for LabourList by European Parliamentary Labour Party Leader and my East Midlands colleague Glenis Willmott.

Thank you again to everyone who is supporting the Labour campaign for Thursday's elections. All your help and support is much appreciated.

Twitter @Rory_Palmer | Facebook www.facebook.com/RoryPalmerLabour

www.eastmidslabour.org.uk

Animal welfare pledges

Animal welfare is an important area of European law.

I have pledged that if elected as an MEP I will support measures to strengthen animal welfare laws. Cruelty to animals is abhorrent and we need strong and effective animal welfare laws. We also need those laws to be properly enforced here in the UK and across the European Union.

As a candidate in the European Parliament elections I have signed up to the RSPCA's animal welfare pledge and the Eurogroup for Animals/ Vote for Animals pledge.

I am also supportive of the work of the Labour Animal Welfare Society, an organisation that works to help develop Labour's policy on animal welfare. You can find out more about the Labour Animal Welfare Society's work here.

Backing East Midlands pubs and breweries | CAMRA campaign

It is good to be getting so many e-mails from CAMRA members from across the East Midlands ahead of the European elections in May (my response is also set out below).

If I am elected I would want to work with CAMRA and the European Beer Consumers Union to protect local pubs and support the brewing industry. You can read the European Beer Consumers Union manifesto here.

My response to e-mails from CAMRA members:

Thank you for your recent e-mail asking me to support real ale, community pubs and consumer rights if I am elected as an MEP for the East Midlands in May's elections.

I am proud to be a member of CAMRA and agree with you that pubs are a valuable British institution and play an important role in our local communities. 

I am very concerned about the numbers of pubs closing, for a variety of reasons, and I want to see action taken at local and national levels to protect our pubs.

I agree that more should be done to promote our local brewing industry through free tie options and a guest beer right for licensees. There are many excellent breweries across the East Midlands region and I want to see them thrive now and in the future. I also agree that beer should be affordable and I recognise the important role that local pubs play in promoting safe and responsible drinking.

You may be interested in an article I wrote for the Leicester CAMRA newsletter setting out my support for local pubs. It is in the March/April 2013 edition and can be read here. 

I am always happy to meet with local CAMRA branches and would welcome opportunities to do so.

If I am elected as an MEP in May's elections I will be proud to champion our region's pubs and brewing industry in Europe.

The ECBU manifesto.

World Horse Welfare European manifesto

Thank you to everyone who has contacted me recently about World Horse Welfare's manifesto for the European Parliament elections.

I support the aims set out in World Horse Welfare's manifesto and will support these aims if I am elected as an MEP in May.

The manifesto can be read here.

Campaign update blog

With less than 40 days until Polling Day Labour campaign teams are busy across all parts of the East Midlands.

Thank you to everyone who has been campaigning recently; knocking on doors, delivering literature or helping in other ways. All your efforts are appreciated and will make a real difference. In recent weeks I have campaigned in Derby, Leicester, Nottingham, Kettering, North West Leicestershire, Northampton North, Wellingborough, Bosworth and Lincoln.

With the campaign team in Northampton North with
Sally Keeble recently.

I have recently taken part in two hustings events with candidates from other parties. The first of these events was a debate on climate change and environmental policy held at De Montfort University in Leicester as part of the GreenLight Festival.

Taking part in the GreenLight Festival MEP
candidate hustings.

I also took part in a debate hosted by the Nottingham Post. Nottingham City Councillor Michael Edwards did a blog write-up of the event here.

Since my last campaign update blog I have spoken at a number of events across the region including Newark Branch Labour Party; the Unison Labour Link Political Forum; Nottingham South Constituency Labour Party; Nottingham Labour by-election victory social; Western Park, Leicester Branch Labour Party and the South Leicestershire Labour Party Annual Dinner where I spoke alongside Labour Party Vice-Chair Michael Dugher MP.
It was also good to join friends from across the region at a dinner organised by East Midlands TULO (Trade Union - Labour Party Liaison Organisation) which was addressed by GMB General Secretary Paul Kenny, Glenis Willmott MEP and Michael Dugher MP.

Speaking alongside Glenis Willmott at the Unison
Labour Link Political Forum.

Addressing the South Leicestershire
Labour Party Annual Dinner.

It was also good to join Liz Kendall MP and friends from Leicester West Labour Party for their recent social event at Namaste restaurant on Narborough Road.

To coincide with the 50 day countdown to Polling Day I wrote an article for LabourList setting out the key issues we are hearing on the campaign trail and the dividing lines that are defining this campaign. You can read the article here.

If you would like to support our campaign you can find out more details and sign-up for local campaign sessions here. Thank you to everyone who has helped so far.

Twitter @Rory_Palmer | Facebook www.facebook.com/RoryPalmerLabour 

www.eastmidslabour.org.uk

50 days to go | Article for LabourList

Article for LabourList published with 50 days to go until the European elections.

Like European election teams in other regions, here in the East Midlands we have been clocking up the miles. From our cities to market towns, from the coalfields to the Peak District, from the East Coast and across our rolling countryside, we have criss-crossed our region and found Labour activists in determined mood. Determined to win this May and unrelenting in the campaign to get Ed Miliband into Downing Street.

On the doorsteps we have heard stories of anger and despair:  families hit by the Bedroom Tax and young people struggling to find decent work. Parents talk of the uncertainty and angst of trying to make ends meet on zero hours contracts. Families recount their anger about rising energy bills.

These stories define the dreadful Tory-Lib Dem Government. Tackling the cost of living crisis is central to our campaign for May’s European elections. To secure a better future here we need to see fairness and growth in Europe.

That is why the approach to Europe from the Tories and UKIP is so irresponsible. As people worry about making ends meet on zero hours contracts and with high levels of youth joblessness, this is not the time to be putting thousands of jobs at risk. But that is what UKIP and the Tories are doing.

People worry about a race to the bottom on wages, skills and workplace rights. The Tories and UKIP want to weaken rights at work. Labour will defend our employment rights and make the case for stronger protection and dignity in the workplace. The truth about UKIP is that their policies would hurt Britain, putting jobs at risk and deepening the cost of living crisis for families across the country.

The dividing lines are stark in this May’s elections and they are a fight for what we believe in.

The message from the countless doorstep conversations we are having is clear. On Europe, people want real leadership and for the EU to be working for them. Our position – recognising the pragmatic benefits of EU membership for jobs and business, a referendum lock and a clear set of EU reform priorities – is chiming with the public mood.

People have no truck with Cameron’s weakness on Europe. The electorate can sniff out a divided party a mile off. You don’t need to be a Westminster insider to confirm that Cameron’s Europe policy is all about party management.

In 50 days’ time there is a clear choice. Labour is serious and determined about EU reform, focussed on protecting jobs and employment rights and putting in place measures to help families and tackle the cost of living crisis.

We are talking about the issues that matter. Our job now over these next few weeks is to take this message into every community in every region of the country.

In 50 days’ time we need a set of results which demonstrate how Ed Miliband’s One Nation Labour is winning back peoples’ trust and confidence in all parts of the country. With just 50 days to go you can help us win. Help us win so we have more Labour MEPs standing up for our communities in Brussels: tackling the cost of living crisis, defending rights at work and protecting jobs.

This article first appeared on LabourList, 2 April 2014.

If you would like to help Labour's campaign for the European elections in the East Midlands, please sign-up for our campaign sessions here: www.eastmidslabour.org.uk/events 

Campaign update blog: Less than 100 days to go.....

It is now less than 100 days until Polling Day for the European Parliament elections.

The campaign here in the East Midlands is now in full swing. Thank you to the campaign teams working hard in all parts of the region. Thank you especially to the campaign teams that have welcomed the European candidates to Leicester, Loughborough, Northampton, Corby, Lincoln, Boston, Nottingham and Broxtowe for our recent 'Super Saturday' campaign days.

It has been great to see so many activists out joining us on the campaign trail along with our MPs including Jon Ashworth in Leicester South and Andy Sawford in Corby. We have also been joined by Labour's Prospective Parliamentary Candidates including Lucy Rigby, Sally Keeble, Matthew O'Callaghan and Nick Palmer.

East Midlands Labour 'Super Saturday' in Nottingham.

In Lincoln with our PPC Lucy Rigby and team.

The team will be campaigning across the region in the coming weeks. For details and to sign up for our campaign events visit the East Midlands Labour website.

In the past few weeks I have also visited Corby and Erewash Labour Parties to speak at their constituency meetings about the campaign and Labour's vision for a fairer Europe. It was also good to speak at a meeting of the Leicester Labour Campaign Forum.

A few weeks ago I met with Labour's candidates for North West Leicestershire, South Derbyshire and Burton to discuss the need for the Ivanhoe Railway/ National Forest Line to be re-opened for passenger trains between Leicester and Burton. This would have real economic benefits for the area and I am supportive of the campaign. I will be working with Jamie, Cheryl and Jon on this campaign in the coming months.

Meeting with Labour PPCs Jon Wheale (Burton),
Jamie McMahon (North West Leics) &
Cheryl Pidgeon (South Derbyshire) to
discuss the Ivanhoe/National Forest railway line.

In recent weeks I have also met with Leicestershire Ramblers Association to discuss the importance of good footpaths in the area and also visited the new Food Hall at Leicester Market which is under construction and which is backed by £2 million of EU funding. The timber used in the construction is all from sustainable sources. The the city council is one of the first 40 organisations to sign up to the European Sustainable Timber Coalition and to reach the Gold pledge in the WWF's sustainable timber procurement campaign.

You can find on this site other updates from the campaign and news. Thank you again to everyone campaigning in the East Midlands and across the country for May's elections.

Remember, to keep tweeting about your campaigning. You can follow me on twitter @Rory_Palmer and my Facebook page is at www.facebook.com/RoryPalmerLabour

100 days to go

It is 100 days until election day for the European Parliament elections.

Thank you to everyone who has supported the East Midlands Labour European campaign so far.

We are setting out why Labour is the only party with the serious answers to the cost of living crisis facing families across the region. Labour is on your side. We will fight to protect important rights at work, including maternity and paternity rights.

We will also work to bring new investment to the East Midlands to create jobs and apprenticeships and to get our young people back to work.

If you want to help Labour win in May why not sign up to join the East Midlands Labour European team campaign sessions across the region. Sign up here.

Remember to keep tweeting about your campaigning using #labourdoorstep and #EP2014.

Thank you to the campaign teams across the region.

Twitter @Rory_ Palmer | Facebook www.facebook.com/RoryPalmerLabour

www.eastmidslabour.org.uk 

Thank you: Leicester & Loughborough campaigning

Thank you to everyone who joined the East Midlands Labour European candidates for our campaign sessions in Leicester and Loughborough this weekend. 

It was brilliant to see so many activists coming along to support the campaign. In Leicester we were joined by MP Jon Ashworth, local councillors, Leicester University Labour Students and activists from local trade union branches.

For details of future campaign events across the East Midlands and to sign up please check the regional party website here.

Campaign update blog: #CostofCameron, why the EU matters, campaigning & more....

At the end of December I wrote an article for LabourList looking ahead to May's European elections. The weeks and days are counting down towards the elections and European candidates and activists are campaigning across the country.

My article sets out why these elections matter for Labour and why we need to be setting the agenda in important areas like EU reform, immigration and how we work for a better and fairer EU. Central to our campaign has to be setting out the solutions to the cost of living crisis, and explaining why the Tories and UKIP do not have the answers. In my article I argue that Labour should be taking on UKIP and we should be dismantling their arguments at every opportunity.

Let me know your views on my article via Twitter (@Rory_Palmer) or my Facebook page.

On Monday 6 January I joined Jonathan Lampon on the BBC Radio Leicester Breakfast Show to talk about why Britain's EU membership matters to Leicestershire and the East Midlands and why May's MEP elections are important. It was good to talk about how EU funding is boosting important regeneration projects in the area, which arguably would not be happening without that funding because of cuts to other funding streams. In the interview I also pointed out that families in Leicester and the region are £3000 better off because of our EU membership - a figure calculated by the business organisation the CBI.

The second weekend in January saw Labour's #CostofCameron campaign day, highlighting the dreadful cost of living crisis created by the Tory & LibDem Government. It was good to join a campaign team in my council ward, Eyres Monsell, in Leicester to set out Labour's response to the cost of living crisis. 

With campaigners in Leicester for the #CostofCameron campaign day.

In Leicester I attended a public meeting organised by the Keep Clarendon Park Local campaign about the proposed opening of a Tesco Express on Queens Road/Clarendon Park Road. There is a lot of local concern about the possible impact of this on local independent businesses. I share this concern and I am supporting the local campaign. At the public meeting I asked the Tesco representative if they open in the area whether they will be paying their staff the Living Wage. In a roundabout way the answer appeared to be a 'no'. 

In the last couple of weeks or so I have joined our PPC Jamie McMahon and the campaign team out on the doorstep in North West Leicestershire, spoken about the European campaign at Bosworth and Leicester South Labour Parties and taken part in a phone-in and debate on Radio Leicester about climate change.

Over the coming weeks Glenis Willmott and the European team of candidates will be joining campaign sessions across the East Midlands. To find out more and to sign up for sessions in your area see here.

A big thank you to all the Labour Party activists and supporters campaigning across the region ahead of May's elections.

BBC Radio Leicester interview: why the EU matters

Earlier today I joined Jonathan Lampon on the BBC Radio Leicester Breakfast Show to discuss May's European elections and why the East Midlands is better off because of our EU membership.

I set out the need for reform in the EU to ensure a stronger focus on jobs and growth and tackling the cost of living crisis. Labour will make the case for this reform. Households in the East Midlands are £3000 a year better off because of EU membership according to the CBI.

Listen to the interview here (scroll to 2 hours, 8 minutes): http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01ngzqq

2014 matters for Europe, for the country and for Labour

Article for LabourList looking ahead to next year's European Parliament elections.

When pinning your new calendar to the kitchen wall in the next couple of weeks be sure put a red circle around Thursday 22 May. The weeks and days will quickly countdown to European election polling day and important local elections. As the European election results are announced on the following Sunday evening, we will be less than a year to the 2015 General Election.

Momentum matters in politics and next May’s European elections have real significance. These are the first European elections we have contested whilst being in Westminster opposition since 1994. The patterns of previous results are clear in telling us what tends to happen to governing parties at European elections but we should be anything but complacent. We need to be working tirelessly to elect more Labour MEPs and to win in all parts of the country.

European results tend not to set the long-term political weather but next year’s will set the tone at a critical point in the domestic electoral cycle. The good set of results we need next May will give a real boost to the campaign towards 2015.

To win in 2014 we have to be ready to take on UKIP. A UKIP surge next year is good news for no one and a Nigel Farage victory lap around the country next summer will be to our peril as well as the Tories’.

Organisationally the party is in good shape going into the New Year. With a team of new organisers in the field we should be relishing the opportunity to boost contact rates in each and every constituency and rehearse our GOTV campaigns.

The European campaign will need to dovetail with local council and parliamentary campaigns, framed around our strong and decisive argument on the cost of living crisis.

We will set out our case for a better and reformed European Union that works for working people, that is focussed on jobs and growth and which responds to the challenges we face today.

Having recently seen the Government’s chaotic approach to EU immigration policy, we should not forget that Labour demanded action months ago to deal with the loopholes that lead to exploitation of migrant workers and the undercutting of local labour. We have to show that it’s Labour with the ideas for a better and fairer EU.

Next year’s elections come at an important time for Europe and for our domestic electoral cycle. With every vote counting in European elections our challenge is clear. As we see the cost of living crisis take hold across the country we will show that it is Ed Miliband’s Labour with the real solutions. We will set out a progressive argument for a better Europe; a Europe that works for working people.

We can secure a One Nation result next May, winning in all parts of the country; to do that we need to be straight out of the blocks at the turn of the year. Let’s get to it. 2014 matters for Europe, for the country and for Labour. See you on the doorsteps.

This article was first published on LabourList, 22 December 2013.

Blog: campaign update #FreezeThatBill, Small Business Saturday & more.....

Here's a quick campaign update from the last few weeks including #FreezeThatBill, Small Business Saturday and Billy Bragg:

On Saturday 9 November I took part in the #FreezeThatBill campaign day, joining our campaign teams in Leicester and Loughborough. It was good to be joined by Shadow Cabinet Member Vernon Coaker MP at the campaign session in Loughborough.

To find out more and support Labour's #FreezeThatBill campaign see: http://action.labour.org.uk/page/s/energy-calculator/

FreezeThatBill campaigning in Loughborough.

During November I spoke at several meetings and events about next year's European elections including Charnwood Constituency Labour Party; Nottinghamshire Fabian Society's AGM; Glenis Willmott's East Midlands Labour European Forum; and Northampton University Labour Students with our Parliamentary Candidate Sally Keeble.

I also attended the East Midlands Labour Gala Dinner which was addressed by Ed Miliband. It was also good to welcome Tom Watson MP to the annual Leicester South Christmas Curry earlier this week.

At the East Midlands Labour Gala Dinner with friends from North West Leicestershire Labour Party including our candidate Jamie McMahon.

Saturday 7 December was the first Small Business Saturday UK. This was an excellent opportunity to celebrate the important contribution small businesses make to our high streets and communities. I wrote a column for the Leicester Mercury which can be read here.

On Small Business Saturday itself I started the day at the home of many excellent small businesses and independent traders, the famous Leicester Market. I also visited Welbeck Farm Shop in North Nottinghamshire, which is also home to the Welbeck Brewery. The previous Sunday I visited the popular Clarendon Park Christmas Fair on Leicester's Queens Road.

I have written previously about the special food heritage and industry we have here in the East Midlands. If I am elected as an MEP working to promote this industry will be one of my top priorities. In November we saw lots of local producers showcased at the Leicester Market Winter Food & Drink Festival. This event featured local producers like Woodhouse Farm in Hinckley and Coalville's Long Lane Brewery.

I have signed up to support an NUS campaign to champion postgraduate students. Postgraduate study is vital to the UK in terms of research and innovation. I want to see a fair funding settlement for postgraduate students at our region's universities. Find out more here.

With Leicester University Students Union officer Michael Rubin and
Jon Ashworth MP signing up as a Postgraduate Champion.

Congratulations to Labour's Parliamentary Candidates that have been selected since my last update blog, Kevin McKeever in Northampton South and Cherly Pidgeon for South Derbyshire. It has been a busy few weeks but it was good to find time to see Billy Bragg perform here in the East Midlands at Derby Assembly Rooms.

Thank you to everyone who is campaigning across the region ahead of next year's elections.

Remember, you can also follow me on Twitter @Rory_Palmer.

200 days to go | These elections matter

Today is 200 days until voters go to the polls for the 2014 European Parliament elections.

These elections matter. We need to elect more Labour MEPs across the UK to fight for a better deal for our regions and the UK in these difficult times. Labour MEPs, led by Glenis Willmott, have done an excellent job since 2009. The European Parliamentary Labour Party was reduced in number at the 2009 elections – we lost a third of our MEPs – but has not been reduced in its impact in Brussels.

Labour MEPs have led the campaign for a European Youth Guarantee to tackle the youth jobs crisis and give hope to young people across the EU. Our MEPs have been making the argument for a progressive and fairer Europe, built on jobs and growth.

As we move towards next May’s elections we need to be setting out the progressive case for Britain’s future in a reformed Europe. We will not be arguing to defend the status quo in Europe. We accept the EU needs to change, in response to the global challenges we face today but also to better reflect our values and priorities.

The European Parliament elections next May have an important political context for Labour. We should not overlook this. It makes these European elections arguably more important than some previous electoral cycles in Europe and it means we have to win well next year.

Momentum matters in politics. The European elections next May will be held less than a year before the 2015 General Election. The European elections are a key milestone on the journey towards 2015.

These are the first set of European elections Labour has fought as the national opposition party since 1994. That is a political generation ago. We all know what tends to happen to the vote share of the governing party(ies) at European elections. We saw our vote decline at each cycle of European elections after 1997; in 1999, 2004 and 2009. We have to make sure next year’s elections inflict real and lasting damage on the Conservatives and Lib Dems poll numbers, and that we take on UKIP. It is crucial that we challenge UKIP’s arguments at every opportunity.

The results of these elections will, for a period of time, help set the political landscape. This will be at an important time in the electoral cycle. It is crucial that Labour does well on 22 May 2014. The results will be the subject of comment pieces and political punditry as we approach next summer and the final party conference before 2015.

We need to win next May and win well. To make sure we do well next May we have to set out and win the progressive argument for Europe.

It is also important we make clear the direct link between the argument on Europe and the everyday concerns of people in our communities. Ed Miliband is setting the agenda on the living standards debate and that has to be central to the campaign next May.

Our organisation will be key to securing a good set of results next May. Thanks to Ian McNichol and his team we have parliamentary candidates selected in key battleground seats and organisers in place. This is a real advantage and 2014 has to be treated as an important dress rehearsal and test for this organisational capability. This is particularly the case for refining our GOTV operations and postal vote campaigning.

We need to be working hard across the country between now and next May. Campaign teams and European candidates are already hard at work because these elections matter. These are not just ‘another’ set of European elections. I know we can do well next May. We can strengthen our voice in Europe by electing more Labour MEPs across the country. The campaign can be a real boost on our route map towards 2015.

With 200 days to go, let’s get to it.

Twitter @Rory_Palmer

Facebook www.facebook.com/RoryPalmerLabour

East Midlands European Candidates:
Rory Palmer; Linda Woodings; Glenis Willmott MEP;
Nicki Brooks; Khalid Hadadi.

Blog: campaign update

It is now less than seven months until European polling day. 

Over the summer and now into the autumn the East Midlands European candidates have been visiting CLPs across the region and campaigning with our MPs, parliamentary candidates, councillors and local campaign teams.

It has been a busy couple of months or so over the summer, here's a brief rundown of the some of the highlights:

I was pleased to join our parliamentary candidate Matthew O'Callaghan and colleagues in Loughborough Labour Party for their annual garden party. The party in Loughborough have notched up some important council by-eleciton wins recently.

With Glenis Willmott MEP, I also attended the Earls Barton Labour Party garden party (although it was moved indoors due to rain). This event welcomed members from Kettering and Wellingborough CLPs.

In September I joined European candidates from across the country at the Labour Party Conference in Brighton. It was good to meet with candidates from other regions to discuss the campaign. I also had the opportunity to meet with colleagues from Labour's sister parties from across the world including Tunisia, Burma, the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

I spoke at the Labour Movement for Europe campaign rally on the first day of Conference. This was a good event with a clear determination from across the Labour movement to win well next May.

Speaking at the Labour Movement for Europe Campaign
Rally at Labour Party Conference in Brighton.

Glenis Willmott, East Midlands MEP and Leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party addressed Conference. You can read the speech here.

A number of policy announcements were made at Conference by Ed Miliband and the Shadow Cabinet on issues like the bedroom tax, childcare and housing. You can find more information on the Labour Party website.

In early October I set out my thoughts on Britain's future in Europe and the Labour vision for Europe at the Wellingborough Labour Party Supper Club. I will publish the key arguments in my speech as an article. I was honoured to have been invited to speak at the Supper Club, previous speakers over the years have included Neil Kinnock, Peter Mandelson, Mo Mowlam, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair.

Thank you again to members in Wellingborough for an enjoyable evening.

It was good to speak at the Leicester University Labour Students reception. Like Labour Clubs in other parts of the region, Leicester is an active and campaigning club. Labour Students and Young Labour are campaigning across the region ahead of next year's elections and 2015.

Addressing Leicester Labour Students reception.

I chaired a discussion on the Labour Party reform proposals in North West Leicestershire which was attended by Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls MP. This weekend I spoke at a fringe event hosted by Progress at the Labour in Leicester Conference. At the event I set out the importance of the 2014 European campaign as a key milestone towards 2015 and our efforts to secure a Labour majority. 

Chairing a discussion on party reform with
Ed Balls in Coalville, North West Leicestershire.

I also want to congratulate the Labour Prospective Parliamentary Candidates selected over the summer; Leonie Mathers (Sherwood); Nick Palmer (Broxtowe); Kevin Gillott (Amber Valley);Catherine Atkinson (Erewash) and Jamie McMahon (North West Leicestershire). It was also good to see promotions for East Midlands MPs in the Westminster re-shuffle recently with a number of our MPs getting promotions. The region is well represented in the Shadow Cabinet and front bench with Chris Leslie, Vernon Coaker, Lilian Greenwood, Gloria De Piero, Liz Kendall, Jon Ashworth, Toby Perkins and Andy Sawford. I was also pleased to see Willy Bach join the Shadow Foreign Office team in the House of Lords.

The next few months will be busy. Thank you to everyone who has joined us on the doorsteps already. I am looking forward to campaigning in more parts of the region in the next few weeks and months. Finally, Glenis Willmott will be hosting her annual European Forum for Labour Party members on 23 November. I look forward to seeing members from across the region there.

Twitter: @Rory_Palmer

www.facebook.com/RoryPalmerLabour

MEP candidate ballot result

I am really pleased to have topped the regional ballot of Labour's MEP candidates in the East Midlands.

Thank you to everyone who voted and especially to my campaign team.

I am now looking forward to campaigning with our team of candidates for next year's elections.

The East Midlands Labour Party has announced the order that the candidates for next year’s European Elections will appear on the Labour Party list.

Glenis Willmott, Labour’s current MEP for the East Midlands and Labour’s Leader in Europe, was reselected to stand in 2014.

Following the ballot the four additional Labour candidates will appear on the list in the following order: 

· Rory Palmer
· Linda Woodings
· Khalid Hadadi
· Nicki Brooks 

Glenis Willmott said: “I am delighted to have been selected again to stand for Labour in next year’s European elections and I am looking forward to campaigning with Labour’s four other excellent candidates over the coming months as we work together to fight for a better future for the people of the East Midlands.

“Over the last four years Labour MEPs have worked hard to stand up for the people of the East Midlands - successfully achieving a Europe wide jobs guarantee for our young people, taking action on bankers’ bonuses and campaigning for jobs and growth in our region. 

“Meanwhile by voting against policies such as action on climate change, Tory MEPs have dramatically failed to support the interests of people in the East Midlands. And by constantly abstaining in votes, UKIP have failed to back EU policies that would bring wide reaching benefits to the East Midlands such as the jobs guarantee for our young people.” 

Rory Palmer said: “I am really pleased to have topped the ballot for Labour’s European list here in the East Midlands. This will be an important campaign and I am excited about the challenge ahead and am looking forward to working with Glenis Willmott and the East Midlands Labour Euro team over the coming weeks and months.

“I firmly believe that Britain’s national interest lies in remaining at the heart of a reformed EU and this is the message that I will be taking out to the electorate.”

The result is being announced following a ballot of all East Midlands Labour Party members where, after weeks of campaigning and hustings events, they were invited to rank the candidates in order of preference. 

Harriet Harman MP said: “I am proud that that such strong, committed and inspiring people have been picked by ordinary Labour Party members to be their MEP candidates in the East Midlands." 

“Like the people they seek to represent, they come from all walks of life and from all the different communities who live here in East Midlands."

“Unlike David Cameron whose first priority on Europe is appeasing the ever more extreme demands of Tory backbenchers, Labour MEPs will be a powerful One Nation voice who stand up for ordinary hardworking families."

“Their top priority is to be a strong voice in the European Parliament to make sure they get the best deal and bring jobs and growth here in the East Midlands”

The East Midlands Labour MEP candidates: Rory Palmer, Linda Woodings,
Glenis Willmott, Nicki Brooks & Khalid Hadadi

If you are a Labour Party member in the East Midlands and have not yet voted in the MEP candidate ballot, please vote now!

The ballot will close at 5pm on Wednesday.

This ballot will decide the order of Labour's candidates for next year's European Parliament elections.

Party members received ballot packs in the post several weeks ago. If you post it first class today it might arrive in time. Members also received an e-mail advising of online voting.

You can find out more about me and my campaign on this site.

Please consider voting for me as your FIRST preference.

Tweet your support #Rory1forEastMids

Facebook www.facebook.com/RoryPalmerLabour

5 DAYS TO GO

If you have not yet voted in the Labour MEP candidate ballot please vote today!

This ballot is important - it will decide the order of Labour's MEP candidates in the East Midlands for next year's European Parliament elections.

If you post your ballot today it should arrive in time. Online voting is still open if you have received an e-mail from the Labour Party.

You can find out more about me and my campaign on this site.

Thank you to everyone who has already voted in the ballot.

Vote RORY PALMER as your FIRST preference.

BALLOT CLOSES ON WEDNESDAY: VOTE TODAY

Tweet your support #Rory1forEastMids

Facebook www.facebook.com/RoryPalmerLabour

ONE WEEK TO GO

The MEP candidate selection ballot will close in one week (5pm, Wednesday 31 July).

There is still time to vote, so if you have not yet voted please consider supporting me with your first preference vote. You can find out more about me and my campaign on this site.

I am very grateful for the support I have received from across the region; from all counties; from all cities; from grassroots members, trade union activists, young members, councillors and Members of Parliament. I am proud to have the support of trade unions including Community, GMB and UNISON.

Thank you to everyone who has supported my campaign and who has voted for me.

If you have friends, family or colleagues in the Labour Party who have not yet voted please encourage them to support me with their first preference vote.

The finishing line is in sight but I am still campaigning for every vote. 

Tweet your support #Rory1forEastMids

Facebook www.facebook.com/RoryPalmerLabour

Less than three weeks to go.... campaign update blog

The finishing line is in sight. 

It is now less than three weeks until the MEP candidate ballot closes. This has been a marathon of a selection ballot, with eight weeks of voting, hustings events across the region and thousands of members to contact.

With another busy week behind us I want to say thank you (again) to my brilliant campaign team. My team of volunteers have worked tirelessly for many weeks. I cannot thank them enough.

Since my last update blog we have had the East Midlands Labour Regional Conference. It was good to welcome the conference to Leicester, and to hear excellent speeches from Deputy Leader Harriet Harman, General Secretary Iain McNicol and many of our region's MPs.

The conference was well attended and it was good to catch up with friends and comrades from across the region. Labour in the East Midlands is in good shape and ready for the European and local elections in 2014 and the General Election in 2015.

It was good to attend a meeting of Lincoln CLP last week as well to discuss the European campaign. Thank you to the CLP for organising this discussion, it was interesting to hear the views and ideas of members in Lincoln. Important progress was made by Labour in Lincolnshire in May's County Council elections but UKIP also secured 16 seats.

I have spent a lot of time since May's elections listening to our activists and members across all parts of the East Midlands, and specifically on the issue of tackling UKIP. I will be setting out my thoughts in more detail on how Labour should tackle UKIP in the coming weeks

This week I joined Leicestershire CWU Branch Treasurer Andy Connelly to post a bundle of Save Our Royal Mail post cards to MPs. I am campaigning against the privatisation of Royal Mail.

Finally, a note on Ed Miliband's big speech this week. Ed is right to set out some bold party reforms. We cannot change politics for the better if we are not serious about changing and reforming the Labour Party. I have always supported the Labour Party - trade union link and will continue to do so.

The link is vital. An effective trade union link makes for an effective Labour Party. The trade unions have played an important role in the Labour Party historically and it's crucial they do so in the future as well. I am proud to be a trade union member and proud to have the support of trade unions in my MEP campaign.

#Rory1forEastMids

www.facebook.com/RoryPalmerLabour