THE subject of the European Union is never far from the news. With the EU elections coming up, this will get worse.

Our membership brings with it much that is good and much that is bad. Membership of the EU brings with it opportunity for UK business, jobs, economic activity, and membership of a significant economic global negotiator. But aside from the single market, the EU brings waste, unintended consequences of freedom of movement between states, unnecessary bureaucracy and a general sense of frustration by members. Indeed, this frustration is certainly not just limited to us in the UK – the malaise is widespread, especially for those in the Eurozone.

My mother was a founder member of UKIP. We argued endlessly about Europe. She maintained we should come out of Europe irrespective of the economic implications: I maintained I would not sacrifice thousands of jobs in Wyre Forest at the altar of political ideology.

Much of our collective UK frustration with Europe comes from the fact that we don’t ‘do Europe’ very well. We have a decreasing number of British expatriates working for the Commission; we fail to engage when EU laws are being drafted; the nationalist parties representing us in Europe fail to engage in the process; and in Parliament, we don’t scrutinise EU legislation sufficiently.

But so long as Conservatives get our way, there will be a democratic end to the debate in 2017 with an in/ out referendum.

In the meantime, it is vital we work to achieve the best deal for the UK in Europe. As a leading member of the Conservative back bench Fresh Start Project, we are working hard to establish where we can improve our lot.

This week, we are holding a conference in London with over 200 leading individuals, representing all member states, to establish what is achievable with regard to improving the EU to make it work better for the UK and Europe. I completely agree the EU is not working properly for us and I completely agree we should hold a referendum – Britain must decide its own future. But I want to hold that referendum based on what the ‘right’ Europe looks like – not the ‘wrong’. After all, thousands of jobs in Wyre Forest depend on our membership of the EU.

CONTACT YOUR MP

  • Email: mark.garnier.mp@parliament.uk
  • Telephone: 020 7219 7198 or 01562 746771
  • Write: 9a Lower Mill Street, Kidderminster, DY11 6UU, or House of Commons, Westminster, London