WHO IS MY CONSERVATIVE MEP AND WHAT DOES HE DO?

Martin is the first ever Conservative Member of the European Parliament for the North East Region. He was elected in June 1999 and re-elected again in 2004 along with 27 other Conservative colleagues across the UK.

Before his election to the European Parliament Martin worked as a project engineer at Scottish and Newcastle Breweries and holds a BSc degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. He has fought General Elections for Tynemouth (1997), Gateshead East (1987) and Washington (1987) and served as a Conservative Councillor on Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council for 9 years (1987 - 1996) and also on Tyne & Wear County Council before it was abolished in 1986.

As a Member of the European Parliament, Martin sits on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee. The parliamentary committees meet once or twice a month in Brussels. They draw up, amend and adopt legislative proposals and own-initiative reports. They consider Commission and Council proposals and, where necessary, draw up reports to be presented to the plenary assembly. Martin is  the Chairman of the Political Affairs Committee for the Joint Parliamentary Assembly of African, Caribbean and Pacific countries and serves on the Parliament's Delegation to Central Asia and Mongolia.

Martin is also a member of the Campaign for Parliamentary Reform which is a large group of MEPs who are, as the title suggests, campaigning for reforms within the Parliament. The manifesto includes creating one seat for the Parliament (http://www.oneseat.eu), reforming MEPs expenses, and improving debate within the Parliament. The group's membership consists of cross national and cross party MEPs. For more information please see http://www.ep-reform.net.

Most of Martin's working week is spent in Brussels, flying out from Newcastle on Monday and returning on Thursday. The monthly Strasbourg sessions are an opportunity to vote 'in plenary' on legislation and for contributions to be made on the floor of the parliamentary chamber.