London MEP Sarah Ludford quizzed by Sixth Formers in 'Question Time' event (North East Hampshire Liberal Democrats)

North East Hampshire Liberal Democrats <info@northeasthampshirelibdems.org.uk>

London MEP Sarah Ludford quizzed by Sixth Formers in 'Question Time' event

December 17, 2010 4:00 PM
Originally published by Sarah Ludford MEP

London Liberal Democrat MEP Sarah Ludford has been questioned by 150 Sixth Form students mainly from London in a 'Question Time' style event at Europe House, the new joint EU office for the European Commission and European Parliament in the UK.

The event was chaired by Channel 4 newsreader Jon Snow and fellow London MEPs Jean Lambert (Green) and Charles Tannock (Conservative), along with Richard Howitt MEP (Labour, East of England) and Nigel Farage MEP (UKIP, South East) also took part. The event was part of a series to mark the official opening of this new EU office in London.

After the event, Sarah Ludford said:

"The liveliness of the questions showed that giving young people a chance to quiz their MEPs is a great way to get them engaged in politics. I was impressed by the quality of the questions and the students' awareness of what the EU and European Parliament do, and found it great fun. I hope there will be future such events."

"We were asked about everything from the EU budget and MEP allowances to the future of the euro currency, whether Turkey would come into the EU and Angela Merkel's remarks on multiculturalism. I also got targeted by a question on tuition fees - not very European! - but was happy to answer that the new package is much fairer than the existing system."

"The fact that only 9 out of the 150 wanted to leave the EU showed up the falsity of the claim by UKIP's Nigel Farage that 60% of British people wanted withdrawal! These intelligent young people were thoughtful enough to know that in the modern world isolation from Europe is a dead end."

ENDS