Election hustings in Culham

As you can see this is a press release from the European movement, come and here me debate if you live near Culham!

08/05/2009 19:00 - 21:30
ES Culham: Schuman Hall
PRESS RELEASE from the European Movement Oxfordshire Branch

The Oxfordshire Branch of the European Movement is organising an "Any Questions on Europe" panel of European Parliament candidates this Friday 8th May at the European School in Culham. Sparks are expected to fly as candidates from the political parties compete for support in this Open Public meeting, answering questions from the audience which they have no notice of.

This event will follow the format of a similar event in Oxford a couple of months ago, chaired by the branch president, Lord Hurd of Westwell, which was considered to have been entertaining and a good example of knockabout political debate. Students, parents and staff of the European School are expected to attend and participate in the event on Friday.

On this occasion the chairman will be Oxfordshire resident Lord Jay of Ewelme, former British ambassador in France and Head of the Diplomatic Service. A cross-bench member of the House of Lords, he is chairman of the House of Lords Appointments Commission, and is a director of various companies and charities.

The members of the panel so far confirmed will be:
James Elles MEP (Conservative)
David Grace (Lib Dem)
Philip Vander Elst (UKIP)
Dr Derek Wall (Green Party)
Labour have promised that they will be providing one of their candidates to participate in the event, but have yet to provide a name.

The meeting starts at 7.00 p.m. at the European School, Culham.

For further information, please contact the chairman of the Oxfordshire Branch, Alan Armitage, on 07799-892385 or oxford92@aol.com

ends...

Notes:

The European Movement was founded in 1948 by Winston Churchill, as a membership organisation helping to promote the unification of Europe through provision of education and information. It is non party-political, and now operates across the 27 member states of the European Union. The Oxfordshire Branch provides speakers to schools and other educational institutions in the county, and holds public meetings typically four times a year. Recent speakers have included Lord Kinnock, Chris Huhne MP, James Elles MEP and Prof Kalypso Nicolaidis (Director of the European Studies Centre of Oxford University).

James Elles was was first elected an MEP for Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire in 1984. He was Vice-Chairman of the EPP-ED Group in the European Parliament 1999-2004 and was Conservative spokesman for Budgets in the European Parliament 1994-2000.

David Grace is now based in Somerset, but previously worked in Brussels within the institutions of the EU advising individuals and organisations on regional and environmental matters. He is on the Liberal Democrat list for the South-East.

Philip Vander Elst is a freelance writer and lecturer. A former officer of the Oxford Union, he has worked on the staff of the Centre for Policy Studies and the Institute of Economic Affairs, and has been a Director of the Freedom Association. He is No.4 candidate for UKIP in the South East Region..

Dr Derek Wall is an experienced Green political campaigner, published author and journalist. He was Male Principal Speaker of the Green Party of England and Wales. He describes himself as an eco-socialist and stresses the importance of combining electoral politics and non-violent direct action (NVDA) to effect change.