Yorkshire & The Humber

Edward's issues

Edward comes from a Yorkshire family on his mother's side.

Since his election in 1984, he has focused on attracting funds to the region and during his time held the record for any constituency in the UK. Among some of the projects awarded EU aid are York's Medieval Barley Hall, the outstanding chapel at Giggleswick School and Whitby's headland project.

Disappearing Bees

Bee populations are declining worldwide, and as Albert Einstein said, "If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left."

Edward has been working with beekeepers associations in Whitby and Leeds as well as the National Bee Unit near York to try and come up with proposals to put to the European Commission on this crisis, and what steps should now be taken in light of £10 million worth of funding that has been put towards a research initiative by a funding consortium which includes Defra.

Edward is now working with Whitby Beekeepers Association to try to establish a protected area for our native honeybees (Apis mellifera mellifera) in the North York Moors National Park.

Children's Rights

Missing Child Kit

Edward has campaigned for improved children’s rights in Europe for many years. These are now enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which forms part of the Lisbon Treaty.

He is supportive of innovative new ideas, such as the Missing Child Kit which is a UK child-ID scheme created by one of his constituents in Doncaster. Although in its early stages, the Missing Child Kit would integrate fully with the Amber Alert System and Missing Children's Television.

Kerry Grist

Kerry (now Grist) is the mother of constituent Ben Needham who disappeared from Kos, Greece, in 1991. Edward has been campaigning for the Greek authorities to reopen an investigation into the abduction of Ben Needham following new evidence, and is in close contact with his Greek colleagues in the European Parliament to move this case forward.

Coronia - stranded Dunkirk veteran

Tom Machin, master of the MV Coronia, has been prevented from sailing his vintage 160-passenger pleasure vessel from Whitby to Scarborough since 2006. Edward has been campaigning for the UK coastal and maritime authorities to relax their strict national laws - much stricter that EU directives recommend.

Edward has been working closely with local MPs and the Department for Transport on this issue, and hopes not to see yet another summer where this fantastic vessel that helped with the Dunkirk evacuation is prevented from sailing due to red tape.

When Whitehall bureaucrats stopped veteran pleasure vessel the MV Coronia sailing her traditional 17-mile round trips from Scarborough to Whitby blaming EU rules, Edward took up the flight and established that it was Whitehall - not Brussels - to blame

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Useful links

Yorkshire Forward

Yorkshire & Humber Brussels

Yorkshire Tourist Board

Fighting for constituents

Edward led the campaign in Brussels to keep the name "Yorkshire Feta" for the excellent cheese made from yew's milk near Northallerton.

 Leeds man off death row

Edward campaigned for the release of former soldier MirzaTahir Hussain, wrongly imprisoned for several years in Pakistan, and finally on death row (pictured with Edward in his Leeds home). Edward also lobbied President Musharraf for his release.

York Minster

Edward organised the first international symposium on fire damage to historic buildings after the York Minster fire in 1984. Since then he has lobbied successfully for EU funds for historic buildings and conservation across the region.

Upland Farmers

Although a critic of the Common Agricultural Policy, Edward has campaigned for a better deal for Yorkshire's upland farmers.