ukiprule

In the Strasbourg EU Parliament today there were cat calls and jeers for local MEP Mike Nattrass of UKIP.

Mike pointed to the fact that they were discussing sustainable transport policy and taxing people for using fuel and yet MEPs themselves were hypocrites because they are served by a fleet of more than 50 black limousines with chauffeurs which picked them up and put them down whenever and wherever they please.

All this waste and an integrated Strasbourg transport system with a tram stop outside the parliament which they ignore.

The jeers started when he said:


But Madam President, The City of Strasbourg provides a first class tram system with a tram stop outside this very building. So why aren't MEPs here in Strasbourg leading by example?

They don't visit clients they just come here to misrule Europe.

Yet almost all of them use Chauffer driven Limousines and ignore the trams.

If MEPs complied with their own words then perhaps the public would listen? In simple English Madam President this house is guilty of gross hypocrisy.

Now what were MEPs saying about a sustainable transport system please because, like the no smoking rule in the parliament dining rooms, MEPs ignore it.

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The full speech follows:

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Spech Albertini A6-0014/2008 Sustainable European Transport Policy

Madam President,

The UK should make its own laws so I reject this proposal. But I don't dispute that more efficient cars are a good idea or that working from home cuts down pollution.

What concerns me about this report are words like "pricing policy" and "tax on fossil fuels." because no current serious alternatives exist and these taxes are very inflationary.

The future must be about encouraging innovation and technology, not about tricking people who have no alternative, into paying more tax.

Most public transport systems are good for the commuter but don't fit the needs of the businessman who must drive to work in order to use the car to visit clients later.

But Madam President, The City of Strasbourg provides a first class tram system with a tram stop outside this very building. So why aren't MEPs here in Strasbourg leading by example?

They don't visit clients they just come here to misrule Europe.

Yet almost all of them use Chauffer driven Limousines and ignore the trams.

If MEPs complied with their own words then perhaps the public would listen? In simple English Madam President this house is guilty of gross hypocrisy.

Now what were MEPs saying about a sustainable transport system please because, like the no smoking rule in the parliament dining rooms, MEPs ignore it.

__________________
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To put this figure in perspective, just £1 billion would pay for:

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Or 46,893 nurses
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gc

As an Ind Dem employee, and one who does not always see eye to eye with Mike on every issue, I would like to comment.

Mike often travels to Strasbourg with his wife, Joyce, and it is well known that they both favour public transport. Credit where credit is due, on this issue, Mike does not just talk the talk, he walks the walk...!

Just for the record, Tom Wise and Gerard Batten generally walk to the Parliament from their hotel, although they could travel by limo if they wished to. Roger Knapman will travel with staff if possible, sometimes by car, sometimes on foot. I know this, because I got lost with him more than once...! In Brussels Roger rarely, if ever, uses the limos he is entitled to.

I can't speak for the other MEPs, I don't work so closely with them all, I just thought I would make the point: UKIP MEPs generally don't take advantage of all that is on offer. For this they deserve a wee bit of credit at least.

I never saw a Tory MEP arrive at the Parliament on foot....

gawain

GC is quite right, few of our MEPs take advantage of the limo service, and those that do don't generally make a habit of it.

I know a green MEP who ostentatiously uses public transport, but apart from that most of the other parties are happy to take the limos.

michael mcgough

I am reminded of the Green's London Mayoral candidate Sian Berry who was oft seen puffing away outside City Hall with what was believed to be a cigarette.