European Candidates : Profiles
Yorkshire & The Humber European Candidates – Profiles:
Here are the six Conservative candidates for Yorkshire and the Humber - if you would like to get in touch with them, please e-mail europe@yorkshireconservatives.org.uk
1. Edward McMillan-Scott MEP (top row, left)
Edward McMillan-Scott was one of the two Conservatives among six MEPs (2 Conservative, 2 Labour, 1 Liberal Democrat and 1 UKIP) elected in the Yorkshire & Humber Region under Proportional Representation in 2004.
He was elected Vice-President of the European Parliament in July 2004, and has a special responsibility for relations with national parliaments and with the Arab world.
He is chairman of the European Parliament’s largest -ever election observer mission covering the Palestinian presidential election in January 2005 and parliamentary election in January 2006.
From September 1997 – December 2001 he was Leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament, and oversaw the 1999 European Election which saw a doubling of their number to 36.
Edward was a member of the Conservative Party Board and sat on the Shadow Cabinet Europe Committee. Born in Cambridge in 1949, he joined the Conservative Party in 1967, the European Movement in 1973 and was first elected as an MEP in 1984.
2. Timothy Kirkhope MEP (top row, right)
Timothy became an MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber in 1999, and was Leader of the Conservative MEPs from December 2004 to November 2007.
He was Vice-President of the ED Group in the European Parliament until February 2005 and the Conservative representative on the European ‘Future of Europe’ Convention.
Timothy was Chief Whip of the Conservatives in the European Parliament from 1999-2001.
He is also Conservative Spokesman on Constitutional Affairs and Conservative Spokesman on Transport, Tourism and Local Government.
3. Fleur Butler (middle row, left)
Fleur Butler lives in North Yorkshire and she is married with four children . She managed European funded projects across the Yorkshire and Humber region, mostly for the community and voluntary sector. Fleur is familiar with the region having worked with partners from south of the Humber, and from the Yorkshire coast and across to Craven, and down to the South Yorkshire objective one funding zone.
She is now a councillor in Richmondshire with two areas of responsibility, Housing and Economic Development. She sits on the North Yorkshire Strategic Housing Board, is a director of the RECG (Energy Efficiency Advisory Centres), and is on the Tourism Partnership Board.
Fleur has particular interest in rural problems and small business support as well as green issues, and sees her role in Europe as having 2 parts. The practical support that can be given to constituents, as well as safe guarding our national and conservative interests against further European centralisation.
4. Matthew Bean (middle row, right)
Matthew was born and brought up in Yorkshire. He now lives in Boroughbridge in North Yorkshire with his wife, Georgina, and 2 daughters, Isobel and Sophie. He practises as a criminal barrister in Leeds, with his work taking him to most of the major towns and cities of the Region.
Matthew has campaigned for the Conservative Party at both local and national levels; as a Conservative councillor on Harrogate borough council and then Conservative parliamentary candidate in the last general election. He has campaigned on issues such as the problem of rural crime, cutting bureaucracy for small businesses, and the lack of affordable housing in the Region.
Matthew is a firm believer in having interests outside of politics. He is a school governor, a trustee of his local community hall and an active supporter of a number of local charities. He is also a regular contributor to a number of specialist legal journals. He spends his spare time playing tennis, reading, horse riding, and gardening.
5. Nick Burrow (bottom row, left)
Nick has spent the majority of his working life acting on British foreign policy and being the face of British interest abroad. Most of this time has been spent in small rural communities where politics is at its most down to earth and the memory of British influence is regarded as a positive thing. He now want to use this very practical experience as part of the wider decision making process.
Nick believes there is a fundamental difference between blindly supporting a European agenda and supporting British interests in Europe. It is right that the UK is represented at every level in Europe not only to safeguard and develop British interests but to have a positive impact on areas of mutual interest and responsibility.
What I have is a wealth of experience in developing British interests abroad, a strong cultural consciousness and the ability to gets things done in a multi cultural environment. That is why I want to represent the Conservative Party in Europe.
6. Glynis Frew (bottom row, right)
Passionate about the North, I have lived in Yorkshire most of my adult life. I am married with two children. As a parent I try to bring my own children up with the same high principled values that made my childhood both fun and rewarding. I believe that everyone must take personal responsibility for themselves and their actions, but when given talents and attributes have a duty to society as a whole to make the most of them.
Yorkshire and the Humber has much to offer as a region with yet so much potential – some European focus and funding could help us to achieve so much more in transport, manufacturing, fisheries and of course farming!
