The North West: Home of Euro-Sleaze

The last five years have been an interesting period for the North West in terms of euro-politics. Despite only having nine MEPs in the region, five of them have been exposed as employing their wives, one was found guilty of an expense scandal that dwarfs everything seen from our MPs in the last couple of weeks, one defected to another party and not one but two of them are competing for the title of Britain’s laziest MEP.

The 2004 European vote gave us three Labour, three Tory, two Lib Dem and a UKIP MEP, but it didn’t stay that way for long. In 2007 Sajjad Karim, the Liberal Democrat Muslim MEP defected to the Tories claiming that the Lib Dems had "lost their way". Luckily, his conversion to euroscepticism coincided with being voted into second place on the Lib Dem list for the North West region for this coming election, leaving him likely to lose his seat.

Keeping it in the family
It seems that our North West MEPs believe in keeping it in the family. Most famously, Conservative MEP Den Dover was forced resign as chief whip in Brussels after it was disclosed that he had secretly handed over a whopping £758,000 in staffing allowances over seven years to a company run by his wife and daughter.

Sir Robert Atkins, the lead Conservative candidate in this election, employs his wife, Dulcie (Lady Atkins), as a secretary on £30-40k and his son, James, worked for him in Brussels until 2004.

David Sumberg, also a Conservative MEP pays his wife an astonishing £54,000 per year for secretarial work, making her one of the highest paid secretaries in Britain, earning nearly as much as he does.

Lib Dem then Tory MEP, Sajjad Karrim, also hired his wife Zahida on £26,000 per year to run his office, despite the fact that she was already working two days a week as a teacher.

Not wanting to be left out, Brian Simpson, the Labour MEP, hired both his son and his wife.

Britain’s Laziest MEP
Last year, David Sumberg, Conservative MEP, was labelled ‘Britain’s Laziest MEP’ by the News of the World after it was revealed that he has made just two speeches in four years. On top of this he has an abysmal attendance record, taking part in just 46% of votes in the European Parliament.

But he has stiff competition for the title of ‘Britain’s Laziest MEP’. Fellow North West MEP, John Whittaker, the UKIP representative, actually voted even less, managing an unbelievable 45% attendance record. For a member of the party that claims to be the opposition to the EU, John Whittaker didn’t spend a great deal of time voting against anything.

Free tickets
Labour MEP, Arlene McCarthy often received publicity for appearing to stand up for football fans in the North West, until it was revealed by the Sun that she was receiving free Premiership VIP tickets, sometimes four at a time, while the fans she was supposedly representing were forking out ever higher ticket prices.

Nick Griffin
To top off the misery, the North West is the primary target of the BNP, where its leader Nick Griffin is standing, and plenty of eyes around the world will be watching to see whether we elect this most unpleasant man into public office.

More choice than ever
The good news for the coming election is that there is more choice than ever. For people not wanting to reward the main parties over their expense abuses, and not wanting to vote for extremists like the BNP and UKIP, there are plenty of alternatives. The English Democrats, the Jury Team (all independents), the Christian Party, the Green Party, No2EU (a Trades Union movement), and the Socialist Labour Party are all standing.

Libertas
There is also the new Libertas party, which is the first party ever to have candidates standing right across Europe, campaigning to radically reform the European Union and stamp out sleaze. Formed out of the campaign group that successfully stopped the Lisbon constitution in Ireland, Libertas looks set to be a major new force for change in Europe.

John Humberstone

Hello, my name is John Humberstone and I’m the Libertas candidate for the Regional Constituency of Wales in the European elections on Thursday June 4th of this year. I thought I should tell you a bit about myself to help you make an informed decision when you get to the ballot box. I want you to know just how important the need to change is.

I’m fighting in this election because I’m very concerned about the unceasing hand-over of British sovereignty to a body that is so distant, opaque and unaccountable to the people it is supposed to serve. Please don’t get me wrong, I believe in our membership of the Europe Economic Community passionately. But I think it’s time that we – the people – reform and renew Europe ourselves. Now, in a time of the global financial turmoil, it is more critical than ever before, lets face it the people we have entrusted this task to have let us down badly, we cannot allow these people to go on rewarding themselves for failure, rewarding themselves with our money, money that could be far better spent on cleaner hospitals, better care for the elderly and providing education establishments that are not dilapidated, overcrowded or non existent.

I am a trained in Marketing and Advertising, I have been in this industry nearly all my working life, I was born in 1949 in Sheffield a city renowned for steel making. My late wife Sally and I moved to North East Derbyshire just after we were married in 1976 , she worked in a large shopping complex in Nottingham as a secretary where we met, I have three sons, aged between 23 and 30 and a daughter in her early 20s currently studying for a child care diploma, I also delight in having two young grandchildren. For the past 16 years, my main occupation has been in the advertising world working mostly for Radio Stations in the Midlands and North West, rising to the position of Sales Director, this in addition to bringing up a family of four on my own, a daunting task for anyone, but a rewarding one and one that helps you appreciate just how hard families work to make ends meet and just how infuriating it is when you see people wasting your taxes with little or no accountability and a you left with a feeling of helplessness as to know what to do to stop it.

I know what it means to see your taxes shoot up just as your weekly wage goes down. But being trained in the advertising, it has given me the tools and the experience to stand up and advocate for others, especially those who can’t fight for themselves, when I recognize just how much spin and glossing over of the truth goes on to cover up the incredible waste that goes on in our name in the European Union.

My last 8 years as a community councillor and the last 4 of them combined as a county borough councillor ,where I was spokesperson for better government for older people and co-chair of the Finance Scrutiny committee, I have stood up and asked questions about the poor representation we get not just in Cardiff ,but also in Brussels.I have found it hard to see the amount of taxation we are faced with without representation or any proper accountability We have a large portion of our local population particulary in North East Wales from Eastern European states and this has given me a keen interest in employment, immigration and our whole social system which is creaking at the seams, with little or no help from the EEC.

All of this experience has fed into my decision to stand for the European Parliament on June 4th, I know what its like to see an uneven playing field in the labour market and will seek to redress the balance and bring more long term and sustainable employment to Wales, our rural communities have been devastated by steady decline in the availability of local jobs.

So what are Libertas’ and my priorities?

Because the economy is in an unprecedented mess, Libertas and I will ensure that EVERY penny spent by Europe demonstrates value-for-money, in order that we can safeguard our financial future, and that of our children.

Because I believe that democracy is one of the values that unites ALL Europeans, Libertas will make the EU truly open and accountable like never before. We want to publicise the way decisions are made and who makes them, so that we can make Europe work for us and become truly transparent

Because Europe has been run in secrecy by élites and bureaucrats that are simply unknown to most people, I want to be part of a grassroots movement that gives Europe back to its people and you can make this happen on June 4th.

That is why I ask you to vote for me and the new, pan-European party Libertas on June 4th.and lets start the change now.
Thank you, I hope I can count on your vote for change.

John Humberstone

Anthony Butcher

My name is Anthony Butcher and I am a candidate for the North West.

Why am I standing for Libertas?
Libertas is offering a future for Europe never seriously considered before. Until now, the choice has always been 'more or less' Europe. But it doesn't have to be that way. Because Libertas is standing right across the European Union, we could have the power to change the entire direction of the EU.

I don't want an EU superstate. I want a Europe of cooperating sovereign nations. Cooperation doesn't work when it is forced upon us top-down by unelected bureaucrats in Brussels. As we have seen, all this achieves is growing resentment and an ever increasing bureaucracy.

Libertas is offering us the chance to take the power back and put it in the hands of the public. We should be able to decide our own future at the ballot box.

I also believe very strongly in leading by example, and if elected I intend to set the highest possible standards of behaviour as an MEP. This includes publishing all my expenses in detail, with receipts and an explanation. I want our public figures to be people we can trust.

About Me
I run a small IT company and so have an understanding of the burden of bureaucracy coming from Brussels that impedes our businesses.

I have been involved in politics for a number of years. My first political experience was with the Save Kidderminster Hospital group, where we campaigned to re-open emergency services for the Wyre Forest area and one of Britain's few independent MPs, Dr Richard Taylor, was elected.

I later joined the UK Independence Party and was elected to their National Executive Committee. In 2006 I left the party feeling that although I agreed with many of their complaints about the European Union, I couldn't support their negative direction and hostile form of politics, both internal and external.

I now run the British Democracy Forum, a 'eurosceptic' web forum focusing on the smaller parties in Britain. I also own the Politigg political news service.

A few years ago I set up the Label My Food campaign, which seeks better menu information in pubs, restaurants and cafes for vegetarians, allergy sufferers and religious groups.

A few people have commented that I am not from the North West (I live in Bristol, but would move to Manchester if elected). My answer to this is simple; if you want an MEP to just go to Brussels and tell them how wonderful the North West is, then vote for one of the establishment parties. If you want an MEP to go to Brussels and work to end the corruption, stop the waste and put democracy at the heart of the EU, then I am your man. Many of our existing MEPs, such as Den Dover and Sir Robert Atkins are from the North West and have proved to be a disgrace to our region; it's what we achieve that matters, not where we are from.

I was picked by Libertas for the North West region because I believe passionately in tackling the anti-democratic scourge that is the European Union in its current form. It can be changed, but only if we get enough public support to make it happen.

If you have any questions or would like to contact me, please email me: anthony.butcher@libertas.eu

Paul Dabrowa

Hi, my name is Paul John Dabrowa and I am the first Polish citizen to be a candidate and in the UK in EU elections.

I was born in Australia to a Polish mother and an Irish father, I speak Polish (with an Australian accent) and bear a strong affinity to Poland. My Polish step-father was a refugee after serving in the British Army.

After studies in Australia and graduate studies at Harvard I pursued a successful banking career in London. I made regular television appearances on Polish channel TVP providing insightful economic analysis during the banking crisis for the nightly news.

Through my time in the UK I havebecome acutely aware of the severe difficulties Polish people have working abroad. When I first arrived in London I lived next door to a Polish church in West London. There I saw the Polish experience first hand – I spent my free time assisting new immigrants in obtaining visas, jobs and accommodation. Having lived and worked in the UK for many years, I understands how the UK system can be used to make life better for Polish immigrants.

Polish immigrants make up for 1.6% of the British population, and are an integral part of the labour force in this country. These people have moved over here to work and have contributed to the British society for many years, and they should not be ignored. Their own president called them traitors for moving to the UK and contributing to the economy. Enough!

I decided to run in the British elections in order to give an English speaking face to the millions of Poles in the United Kingdom. The Polish community in the UK is one which is really in need of representation in the European Parliament, and the people can achieve that by voting for me in the European elections in June

By running in the UK as a candidate for Polish people I will prove to the British political parties that Poles vote and are an important part of British society.

Libertas provides a strong voice as a pan-European party. This is an election for EU Parliament, all EU citizens in the UK should be able to have influence within the EU.

Bill Westall

Hi my name is Bill Westall and I’m standing for Libertas in the North West elections on June 4th. I thought I should tell you a bit about myself to help you make an informed decision in the ballot box.

I’m fighting in this election because I’m really concerned that we do not have the transparent form of democracy we all deserve. In the European parliament we have 785 MEPs, but they do not have the ability to formulate laws, they can oppose them or offer amendments but that is all, we need to have a truly democratic body which will work for the good of all the peoples of Europe and take us forward. We need to remove all the unelected bureaucrats and make everyone accountable.

I was born in Liverpool in 1951, with no disadvantages, I was strong healthy and fit and went through the local education system, times were hard but we all pulled together, I went on to become an apprentice electrician, but that was only temporary, as a family we moved to Wgan were I moved into the motor trade
This was the best move of my life. It gave me an insight into how things worked in the world of business and how to get things done.

I understand the pressures this recession is putting on people I have already been through a number of them with both Conservative and Labour governments.

After spending 22 years with Citroen UK in a number of management positions I know how hard things can get, industry is a good teacher.

I am fortune that I have a healthy family, including a grandson Freddie who joined us only a year ago, but I want to see them progress into a future that has limitless opportunities.

My personal issue is one of energy provision. I fully support the move to a green environment, but and it’s a big but we must ensure that we have enough energy to progress. The first issue we must address is our current provision.

Coal, Gas and Nuclear provide for our needs, this must continue, but moving to the future we must address these needs, new clean Coal and Nuclear generating plants must be our priority.

Looking over the horizon, we have available abundant energy from the Sun, let’s utilize it. I firmly believe that we have the ability to exploit solar power; it’s clean, green and free and if the legislation can be brought forward to encourage domestic installation, Manchester can lead the way.

So what are Libertas’ and my priorities?

I’ve mentioned energy and that is very important, but the current situation means we must focus on the economy, the economy is in an unprecedented mess, Libertas and I will ensure that EVERY penny spent by Europe demonstrates value-for-money, in order that we can safeguard our financial future, and that of our children.

Because I believe that democracy is one of the values that unites ALL Europeans, Libertas will make the EU truly open and accountable like never before. We want to publicise the way decisions are made and who makes them, so that we can make Europe work for us.

Because Europe has been run in secrecy by élites and bureaucrats that are simply unknown to most people, I want to be part of a grassroots movement that gives Europe back to its people.

Democracy
Transparency
Accountability

That is why I ask you to vote for me and the new, pan-European party Libertas on June 4th.

Thank you,

Bill Westall

Dr Brendan O'Reilly

My name is Brendan O’Reilly and I’m standing for Libertas in the European Elections for the North West constituency. I am aware that you may not be familiar with Libertas because it is a new political party. Libertas differs from the other Parties because it believes in the need for more democracy in Europe.

For a long time I have been concerned about what is happening in politics and about the fact that we are being forced to live by more and more laws which now intrude into every aspect of our lives. We are losing many of our freedoms, the economy is in a very bad state and there is political instability in many parts of the World, and much of this instability impacts on Britain and Europe. Much of the legislation coming from Europe is proposed by people who are not elected and who are not accountable. This must change.

I do not want young people growing up in a Society that is run by people who in reality are not accountable to voters. Neither do I want young people living a life that is over-burdened with laws, rules and regulations as well as by increasing intrusion.

I do want people to have more say in how their lives are governed – Democracy and Accountability. I was born in Liverpool and believe that the North West is good for Europe and a democratic answerable Europe is good for the North West, but as citizens, we need to have a greater say.

I have been involved in several political issues over the years, such as, Amnesty International, Cambodia, Northern Ireland and was a member of Fianna Fail (the main political party in Ireland for several years).

Your vote really matters. I would be honoured if you would give me Your vote so that I can fight for Your right for greater Democracy and accountability in Europe. As things stand very few of us know who our MEPs are. If I am elected this will change and more of us will have a say.

Please remember that the economy and many other issues are in a perilous state – someone is responsible for this – in Britain this someone is the Labour Party. The Conservatives have not shown how things will improve under their stewardship. Therefore we need new people with new ideas. By electing President Obama America has led the way in this.

Can we do it? Yes We can

UKIPOCRISY

In a video sent around Europe today, Libertas exposes the hypocrisy of the UK Independence party.

www.libertas.eu/ukip

UKIP’s message of cleaning up Brussels is in direct contrast to how its members operate. Instead of fixing the problem, UKIP has become the problem. During the past European parliamentary term, a full quarter, 25%, of UKIP MEPs were either convicted of fraud, expelled for the same reason, or resigned in disgrace.

Nigel Farage can't stop the sleaze because he employs his wife, they refuse to publish even the most basic details of their expenses and UKIP has the laziest MEPs in Britain, attending just 60% of votes over the last five years.

DON'T judge UKIP on what they say but on HOW they behave. UKIP cannot change anything in Brussels - Libertas is the ONLY party that can change what is happening and stop the gravy train that is pouring out of Brussels. UKIP are NOT the answer, Libertas is.

www.libertas.eu/ukip

Labour MEPs should disclose ALL expenses

Under pressure from Libertas Chairman Declan Ganley, former Labour Minister Denis MacShane MP admitted on television that Labour MEPs should disclose ALL expenses claims in advance of the European election on the 4th June. Labour MEPs just weeks ago voted to keep their expenses hidden from view.

Speaking on the BBC's Daily Politics Show, Mr MacShane also said that Libertas' campaign to put Europe back in the hands of the people, 'sounds terrific'.

Chairman, Declan Ganley said, "it's easy to make promises and conjure up soundbites on television, when the Brussels reality is completely different. On 12th March, Labour MEPs voted to keep their taxpayer-funded expenses a secret."

"We will be watching the British Labour Party closely on behalf of voters over the next three weeks, to ensure that - this time at least - they stick to their word."

The Great European Rip-Off

Best selling author David Craig made an impassioned plea today to voters to send an unequivocal “enough is enough” message to our politicians in Westminster and Brussels.

“You may think that most of our MPs at Westminster are crooks, but their stealing and thieving is petty cash compared to what’s happening in the European Union” claimed the author.

The vast scale of corruption and waste in Brussels is exposed in his latest book “The Great European Rip-Off”. David Craig is a candidate for Libertas in the South East region in the European elections on 4th June.

“Libertas has a mission to stop the waste, end the corruption and put democracy into the heart of Brussels. I want to do everything I can to assist that mission.”

David Craig previously caused a political storm when he released “Squandered – How Gordon Brown is wasting over one trillion pounds of our money”, exposing the shocking amounts of money wasted under New Labour.

World first: star in your own ad for Libertas

This week, Libertas is launching a revolutionary advertising campaign on the internet: in keeping with our mission to return Europe to the people, we’re asking anyone who supports our cause to make an ad for us.

Instead of one big corporate TV spot, we’re creating thousands of individual “people ads” - it’s grassroots, democratic advertising.

Here’s an example below. Please click on this link today (http://libertas.thisad.co.uk) and make your very own ad, which will then automatically run on sites like MySpace and help get the vote out.

It only takes a couple of minutes, it’s completely free, and most importantly, it lets you spread the word and convince others to vote Libertas on June 4!

Thank you,

Robin Matthews

Trust in politicians is dead. They are traitors to their country.

This has been the darkest point in the history of British politics. Trust in politicians is dead.

Politicians right across the board have been exposed with their fingers in the till, and all they can say is that it was the system at fault. It’s disgusting. We should be able to trust our politicians enough to give them a suitcase full of used notes and say ‘just take what you think is right’. We shouldn’t have to implement a system of detailed controls to check that they aren’t fiddling the system!

Politicians are the guardians of our society. If we can’t trust them not to rob from us, then we certainly can’t trust them to run the economy, to handle massive business contracts, to run the NHS, to look after our personal information and so on.

These people are traitors to their country. They have irreparably damaged the entire political system. Full disclosure is the only way that we can drag the political class out of its current depression. That’s why this week we have made a series of ground-breaking pledges about how we will behave if elected. I strongly urge all other parties to follow suit.

It’s no longer simply a case of making sure that this doesn’t happen again. Too much damage has been caused. Our party leaders need to take a strong lead on this and completely rethink the way they do politics. If Libertas can make these promises, why can’t they?

-Robin Matthews

The most undeserved political rise in history

UKIP’s sudden boost in the polls is the most undeserved political rise in the history of Britain. The expense scandal has led to a massive 12% protest swing to UKIP in the latest poll, boosting them to 19% from their previous position on 7%. I am shocked.

There is no party that could deserve public support less if people are angry over expenses. UKIP lost two of its twelve MEPs to fraud charges, both Nigel Farage and Robert Kilroy-Silk employed their wives, they refuse to publish their expenses and UKIP’s MEPs are the laziest in Brussels, voting just 60% of the time. They have done nothing to deserve public support over expenses.

UKIP were well on their way to losing most of their seats in this election, having dropped 9% in the polls from their 2004 high point of 16%. They’ve done nothing for five years, apart from waste tax payers’ money on their lavish lifestyles in Brussels.

I am livid that in the same week that Libertas has launched a series of sleaze-busting pledges designed to stamp out sleaze in Britain, UKIP is gaining by default from this current scandal having done absolutely nothing to earn it. Bitter? You bet I am.

- Robin Matthews

It’s Stamp Out Sleaze Week!

Following a weekend dominated by MPs’ expense scandals, I am proud to announce that Libertas is today leading the charge to Stamp Out Sleaze.

The party is launching five pledges this week, one each day, designed to tackle the root cause of sleaze.

Our first Stamp Out Sleaze pledge is a promise from all Libertas candidates that, if elected, they will publish their expenses in detail, including receipts and explanations of what the purchase was for. Tax payers have a right to see how their cash is being spent and whether they are getting value for money.

We want to lead by example. Politics doesn’t have to be dirty. Our politicians should be people that we can trust to look after our money both wisely and frugally. That’s why we are today promising to be completely open about how we spend tax payers’ money, and I invite all the other parties to sign up to this pledge too, and together we can rebuild trust in our politicians.

The EU is broken, but Libertas can fix it.

- Robin Matthews

The downward spiral of trust in politicians

As everyone will have seen, the news in the UK this weekend has been dominated with the expense abuse by UK MPs from all sides. While the Labour party have been claiming expenses for sink plugs and films, the Conservatives have let the taxpayer foot the bill for their dog food and light bulbs. I wonder, where is the party of integrity? where are the politicians who seek to represent their people as best they can? rather than bleed them dry and let them pick up the tab for all manner of trivialities.

It is no wonder that people distrust politicians when they are ripping off the public left right and centre.

Now, I know there are some that genuinely want to help their constituents, and who do possess the moral fibre to use their expense accounts legitimately and responsibly, but they should not be the exception, they should be the rule.

The fact is, it is a poorly organised system, which is easily abused because of its lack of transparency and openness. If there was a system of full disclosure of expenses (as advocated by Libertas), then none of this would happen.

I notice David Cameron has told MPs to "say sorry" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8043057.stm) to the public for essentially stealing their money - using it to line their pockets and subsidise their already well paid positions instead of putting it into underfunded public services.

The same thing is happening in Brussels, but people in the UK feel so disengaged with European politics that it is largely unnoticed. The Taxpayers' alliance published an eye-opening report on how easily expenses can be abused in Brussels, and how MEPs can become millionaires in one 5 year term. It's been around a while but for those that are yet to see it, it can be found here - http://www.taxpayersalliance.com/files/meppay-1.pdf

Is an apology enough? Does that absolve these rip-off merchants?

The answer is to introduce full disclosure and openness for all expenses, so that people can see exactly where their hard earned money is going in the UK and in Europe.

Libertas has always been committed to democracy accountability and transparency.

With turnout so low in the UK for the European elections it plays into the hands of the mainstream national parties, who have now been exposed as untrustworthy expense cheats, who are only apologising now they have been caught out. This has been going on for far too long, and they have known exactly what they have been doing.

To usher in a new era of openness and politicians you can trust vote for Libertas on June 4th. To keep upto date with all of the Libertas news including candidate launches across Europe sign up to the Libertas mailing list at www.libertas.eu and encourage your friends to do the same...

Deaf Ear to Democracy

In an incredible display of arrogance and disrespect for the will of the people, members of the European Parliament will have a lengthy debate tonight on the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty. That’s right, the Lisbon Treaty, the same Treaty that Libertas defeated in Ireland and - according to the EU's own rules - is now dead.

Apparently, the bureaucrats in Brussels don’t care what the people think. And the truth is, they don’t need to. Because, right now there is no one to hold them to account.

That’s why the movement you are building right now is so important. It’s up to you whether or not Europe will be accountable to its people. Libertas is our last chance - our only chance - to make sure we have democracy at the heart of the European Union.

The European Elections are only 29 days away. Please email everyone in your contact book. Ask your friends. And get ONE more person to join the movement today.

http://www.libertas.eu/spread-the-word

The MEPs will debate a total of five different reports for this anti-democratic debate, including the Parliament’s new role and responsibilities in implementing the Lisbon Treaty. This discussion is a perfect example of the inherent disrespect the EU has for the democratic views of European citizens, and the lack of accountability to which we are strongly opposed.

This morning Libertas Chairman, and leader of the winning “No” campaign in the 2008 Irish referendum, Declan Ganley said, “Members of the European Parliament are completely out of touch with reality. Instead of debating real issues like how to solve the economic crisis, they are spending resources on something which does not exist because it has been rejected by the people who were allowed a vote on it.

This displays their arrogance, their disrespect for democracy and their waste of taxpayers’ money".

No wonder multiple newspapers across Europe have now confirmed that Brussels is living in fear of our movement, the Libertas movement. What those bureaucrats fear most is a movement of the people. Because they know that if millions of us act together, as Europeans, we will create a new hope for the future – a Europe where Brussels is efficient, focused on creating jobs and restoring our economy, and is overseen by the people.

Please email everyone in your contact list. Ask your friends. And get one more person to join the movement today.

http://www.libertas.eu/spread-the-word

The Libertas movement is gaining tremendous momentum across Europe. We have united the leading figures of the “No” campaigns in France, Ireland and the Netherlands (Declan Ganley, Philippe de Villiers and Eline van den Broek) who worked tirelessly to make sure that the people in their countries were given a vote.

But, now, we need YOU. Our movement is in your hands. You are it. The new hope for Europe will live or die based on what you do now.

So, if you want a strong Europe, a democratic Europe where only elected leaders make the law; if you want a referendum on any Constitution; if you want a real solution to the economic crisis; if you want to hold Brussels to account; if you want to renew the hope that we all had for Europe, then help build the first true party of Europe. A party dedicated to openness, accountability, transparency and democracy.

There are millions of others like you who want a new Europe – they are your friends, your work colleagues, your family members, your neighbours, and members of your community and now we need you to get them to join our cause.