About The Participants

Anti-EMU Pro-EMU

This section features audio clips from those who were interviewed by EuroPolls during the year 2000, and the biographies of themselves or their organisations. The listed participants' help was invaluable to my MA project, and dissertation on EMU. You can find links here to their own Web sites, or affiliated sites.

Anti-EMU

Mr. Peter Fisher (Left) Says "No Euro!"

Ian Milne, Global Britain

Ian Milne is an industrialist and former merchant banker with degrees in engineering and in business administration from Cranfield. He lived and worked in France and Belgium for 12 years and has done business in most of the other EU member states.

He is a co-founder, the other being Keith Carson, and Chairman of the June Press. The June Press publishes eurofacts. Ian Milne is the Director of Global Britain, a cross-party research unit set up in 1998 to promote more informed discussion of the most important issues confronting Britain today: Britain's relations with the European Union and the wider world, and what form of government the British people are to live under in the following decades.

Ian Milne is the chairman of Wynstruments Ltd, a British manufacturing company. Wynstruments Ltd is the world leader in marine windscreen systems.

Ian Milne's publications include articles and pamphlets for the European Journal, eurofacts and other magazines. He is the translator of Europe's Road to War, by Paul-Marc Couteaux - published by the June Press.

Biography by Global Britain.

Dr. Martin Holmes, Bruges Group

The inspiration behind the Bruges Group was Margaret Thatcher's Bruges speech of September 1988. In the speech she argued "that Britain had not rolled back the frontiers of the state in order to have them re-imposed from Brussels."

The Bruges Group claims that it "soon had a major effect on public opinion." It forged links with other like-minded organisations across the EU. The Bruges Group insists that "economic and monetary union must be declared a non-starter." The Bruges Group seeks a renegotiation of the treaties. It otherwise advocates a complete withdrawal from the EU.

Dr. Martin Holmes accuses the Government of not being honest and debasing democracy with its National Changeover Plan by not setting a date  for a referendum. (427kb)

Roger Helmer was first elected as a Member of the European Parliament,East Midlands region, in June 1999. He is a member of the Environment Committee, and a substitute member of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee.

He was Educated at King Edward VI Grammar School, Southampton and Churchill College, Cambridge. Roger Helmer was the Managing Director, Donisthorpe & Co Ltd ,1996-98. His business career has otherwise been mainly overseas with multinationals, including Proctor & Gamble, National Semiconductor and Guinness plc.

His interests are: industry, economic and monetary issues, countryside, country sports. Member: CBI, NFU and the Countryside Alliance.

Roger Helmer talks about the Maastricht criteria and interest rates. (386kb)

Nigel Farage is the United Kingdom Independence Party's Chairman. He was elected in June 1999 to be the Member of the European Parliament for the South East region. Aged 35, he was educated at Dulwich School. He works in the City of London, and runs "his own commodity broking business in the City of London."

In September 1993 he helped to found the UK Independence Party. He has been part of its executive ever since. In 1994 he contested the Eastleigh by-election and the European election for Itchen, Test and Avon. He gained what the UKIP claims to be the "highest anti-federalist vote in the country." In 1997 he stood as a candidate in the General Election for Salisbury. His interests include: golf and sea fishing.

Nigel Farage agrees that the term "federalism" has been misconstrued, but opposes a European Superstate. (271kb)

Daniel Hannan MEP writes for the Daily Telegraph and for the Spectator. He was born in Lima, Peru in 1971, and is trilingual: English, Spanish and French. He was educated at Malborough and at Oxford University's Oriel College. Daniel Hannan worked as a director of the European Research Group from 1994-1999.

He has written Leaders for the Daily Telegraph since 1996. From 1997-1998 Daniel Hannan was Michael Howard's special adviser. In the European Parliament he sits on the Justice and Home Affairs Committee and the Budgets' Committee (substitute member). He has written a number of publications. These include:

A Treaty Too Far (1992), Time for a Fresh Start in Europe (1993), Towards 1996: Britain in a Multi-Speed Europe (1994), The Challenge of the East (1996), A Guide to the Amsterdam Treaty (1997), and The Euro: Bad for Business (1998).

Jens-Peter Bonde - born 1948 in Åbenrå, Denmark - is co-president of the Group for a Europe of Democracies and Diversities in the European Parliament. He is a member of the Conference of Presidents, the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, and a member of the Committee on Budgetary Control. He is part of the Substitute Delegation for relations with Switzerland, Iceland and Norway. He is also a Substitute member of the Delegation to the European Economic Area Joint Parliamentary Committee (EEAJPC).

Jens-Peter Bonde discusses the relationship between free trade and  European political integration. (260kb)

Don Martin is the Vice-President Foreign Affairs Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). He also supports the Anti-Common Market League.

Simon Cliff is a law student at The Nottingham Trent University's Nottingham Law School. He is also a student representative and organiser of New Europe. Earlier on in the year 2000 he helped to organise a meeting featuring Lord Owen.

Dr. Brian Burkitt is a senior lecturer at Bradford University in Economics. He speaks on behalf of the Anti-Common Market League.

Dr. Brian Burkitt talks about the pros and cons of single currency. He gives three reasons for staying out. (3,664kb)

Pro-EMU

Frank R. Oliver MA, Cantab, DPhil SD, Oxon, CStat

Frank Oliver, a supporter of the European Movement, is a Reader in Statistics and Econometrics (Retd.) at the university of Exeter. He teaches an Introduction to Statistical Method and an Introduction to Statistical Theory. His administrative duties include the following : Admissions tutor, Economics and Politics, School Undergraduate Admissions Committee External Positions, Senior Examiner and Member of Examinations Board, Royal Statistical Society Member of Editorial Board, Journal of Applied Statistics. His research interests are: applied statistics and econometrics. Frank Oliver has published the following:

Nick Clegg MEP - Born 1967 - was elected to the European Parliament in the June 1999 European Elections. He was educated at Cambridge University (1986-89), University of Minnesota (1989-90) and the College of Europe (1991-92). He worked as a political consultant in London during 1992 and 1993. Nick Clegg was also the David Thomas Prize Winner, Financial Times, in 1993. From 1994-1996 he was an Official for the European Commission (Tacis Programme), and was a member of the Cabinet of Sir Leon Brittan, European Commission (1996-99).

Nick Clegg is a member of the following in the European Parliament: Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy, and (Substitute) Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. He also supported Britain in Europe's "Out of Europe, Out of Work" campaign in February 2000 at Nottingham castle.

Nick Clegg says the euro is the "greatest spur to liberalisation." (925kb)

Bill Newton Dunn - born 1941 - is a member of the Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats. He sits as a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy. Bill Newton Dunn is also the Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs, and is part of the Substitute Delegation for relations with Israel.

Is keeping the pound just about jingoism? (271kb)

Philip Whitehead was previously the MEP for Staffordshire East & Derby. His main interests are consumer affairs and the media. In the European Parliament Philip Whitehead is the chairman of the Consumer Forum Intergroup, a member of the European Parliament Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection Committee, and a substitute member of the Culture, Youth, Education and Media Committee.

From 1996 -97 he sat as the European Parliamentary Labour Party's representative on the European Parliament's Committee of Enquiry into BSE. Philip Whitehead continues his work as a member of the Contact Committee.

Mel Read previously represented the Nottingham and Leicestershire North West European Constituency from 1994-99, and the Leicester Euro Constituency from 1989-94.In the European Parliament Mel Read works as a member of the Industry, External Trade, Research & Energy Committee. She is also a substitute member of the Legal Affairs and Internal Market Committee. Mel Read chairs the European Parliament US Delegation. She is also a member of the Public Health Intergroup.

John Stevens, a former Conservative MP, formed the Pro Euro Conservative Party with Brendan Donnelly "in protest of the official Conservative Party’s increasingly anti-European attitudes." Their particular qualm related to the Conservative's policy on the single currency, which ruled "out British membership for the remainder of this Parliament and the whole of the next."

According to the Pro-Euro Conservative Party this makes it "impossible for supporters of the single currency to vote Conservative." The Pro-Euro Conservative Party wants Britain to advocate early entry into the single currency. It says that this "would increase employment, reduce interest rates, lead to higher investment and lower prices."

Graham Chapman, Leader Nottingham City Council (Labour)

Graham Chapman is the leader of Nottingham City Council and a member of the East Midlands Development Agency's board. He also supported Britain in Europe's "Out of Europe, Out of Work" campaign in February 2000. He claimed that thousands of jobs in Nottingham are dependent on the European Union.

David Seymour is the political editor of Mirror Group Newspapers.

Anders Panum Jensen is the Secretary General of the Danish European Movement. He expects that his organisation will spend 0.5 million kroner on the Danish Referendum campaign. The Danish European Movement says that the Conservatives will be the big spenders with a 3-15 million Danish kroner budget. Even so the referendum on September 28th 2000 is expected to be "a close race." No biographical details are available.

Is Britain more sceptical than Denmark? (356kb)

John Parker is the "sole employee and managing director" of a Nottingham I.T consultancy. He is a supporter of Britain In Europe, and took part in the East Midlands' launch of BIE's "Out of Europe, Out of Work Campaign" by Nottingham Castle in February 2000.

Anti-EMU Pro-EMU