REPRESENTING SOUTH EAST ENGLAND IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
John Howarth was MEP for South East England from 2017 to 2020. Accordingly aspects of this site are being revised at present.
The constituency was made up of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex - that's a population of more than 8.5 million.
John was a member of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, the second largest group in the Parliament. He served on the Budgets Committee (BUDG), the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO), the Regional Development Committee (REGI) and the Committee for Budgetary Control (CONT). Responsible for his Group on several files on the 2021-27 MFF, John was the Parliament's Rapporteur for the 2019 EU Budget.
CHAMPIONING RESEARCH, INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY IN PUBLIC POLICY AND THE EU BUDGET
Before becoming an MEP John was a business leader and entrepreneur in technology, creative and communication businesses.
John says, "To much public policy work, particularly on the left and centre left, focuses on the distribution of wealth rather than its creation. A greater focus is needed on the importance of science, innovation and creativity.
"The European Union's budget investment in science and research is essential to maintaining and enhancing a competitive, flexible and socially sustainable economy. The challenges of the digital market place, the growing importance of creative content and the need to ensure technological change is socially sustainable will be ongoing preoccupations of the next two legislative terms."
Brexit: now a fact, but still a grave mistake
John says:
"The General Election in December 2020 ended the war of leave and remain. The UK accordingly left the European Union, Brexit is now a fact. But Brexit becoming fact doesn't change the facts - there is still no good Brexit.
"Britain will be damaged economically and it's standing in the world will be diminished further. UK citizens will see the rights they have gained as EU citizens removed by the state, the opportunities for our young people will be restricted, those putting their faith in 'new trade deals' will be disappointed to learn the hard way that there is no magic bullet and the damage to our health services that has already been inflicted will continue.
"Those who campaigned to leave are now conspicuously silent on the substance of the future. What's worse, they still can't explain what the "opportunities of Brexit" are - other than the chance to dodge tax for their hedge funds. What exactly did they win?
"What is now needed is a credible European policy for the UK from the government and an opposition capable of holding the government to account. A further fact remains: the fundamental choice over Brexit: stay close to the EU structures, minimise the economic damage but lose our say over the rules and structures; or pull away from those structures and inflict immense economic damage on our economy and the welfare of our people. We will know soon enough."
