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Author Archives: Rebecca Taylor MEP
Liberal Democrat by-election win in Calderdale
The Calderdale Council seat of Warley in Halifax now has a new Liberal Democrat Councillor in the shape of businessman and long term LibDem and No2ID activist James Baker. James lives just outside Warley with his partner and six month old son and co-ru…
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Flood relief in Calder Valley
BackgroundAs some of you may know (it made the national news), three towns in Calder Valley – Todmorden, Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd – suffered flooding just over 2 weeks ago when torrential rain caused the river Calder to burst its banks. Around 900…
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Energy and Jobs in Yorkshire
Last week, a public consultation began on a proposed project to build the UK’s first power station using carbon capture and storage (CCS) in Yorkshire. Local residents and other interested parties are invited to give their views on the building of the new £3 billion Don Valley Power Project in Hatfield.
The week before, I met with a representative of the project who explained that while the project is still in development, it looks to be on its way to receiving sufficient investment for 2013/14. This investment includes funding from the EU research programme ‘The European Energy Programme for Recovery‘.
The power station in Hatfield will capture millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide which would then be stored on North Sea oil fields. In a recently published report by the National Grid, it was predicted that at least 90% of the carbon dioxide emitted by the coal-fired plant will be captured.
Following recent innovations in the US, the project also involves plans to extract the remaining oil from the North Sea using carbon dioxide which will be stored in those fields. Traditionally large oil firms have abandoned fields shortly after they have reached peak production levels. This new technology will enable extraction of any remaining reserves.
The development is also aimed at becoming the ‘hub’ of a cluster of other CCS projects in the region. The Yorkshire and Humber region is an ideal location for kick-starting a global CCS industry, due to its high concentration of power stations and large industrial plants that release a large amount of carbon dioxide.
The building of the Don Valley Power Project is potentially good news for our region, as not only will to decrease the region’s carbon footprint, it will also create employment. It is estimated that around 2800 temporary jobs will be created to build the infrastructure needed and another 500 permanent roles to run the operations.
A pipeline will have to be constructed to carry carbon dioxide from Hatfield, across the River Humber and over Hull through the HoldernessCoast. Local residents can put their views across during the consultation, and it goes without saying that all environmental factors must be considered.
Yorkshire is at the forefront of a renewable energy revolution. Our region has topped the UK renewable investment league for the last year. I am proud that our region has invested almost two billion pounds in renewable energy projects, creating over 5,400 jobs in the process.
Useful links
- The Don Valley Power Project
- The public consultation on the Don Valley project
- What is Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)?
- Map of the Hatfield site
- Liberal Democrat Energy and Climate Change policy
- National Grid
- European Energy Programme for Recovery
Media coverage
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The Olympic flame passes through Yorkshire
This week, the Olympic flame was carried by various Torch Bearers through many parts of Yorkshire, on its long journey to London where the 2012 Games will begin.Over the last few days, the flame has made its way across the border from Greater Mancheste…
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Bring the Tour de France to Yorkshire in 2016!
As a keen cyclist and a proud Yorkshirewoman, I am very happy to announce my support for the Welcome to Yorkshire “Back Le Bid” campaign to host the opening stage (called the “grand départ”) of the Tour de France in 2016.
The Tour has its grand départ outside of France every two years, for example London and Amsterdam have hosted it in the past, and the Back Le Bid campaign aims to bring it to Yorkshire.
As well as providing a stunning backdrop for the Tour de France, the many steep hills in our region should be able to challenge even the world’s best cyclists. Hosting the Tour will also bring economic benefits to Yorkshire as fans, participants and organisers will visit the region and experience our great hospitality.
In addition, TV coverage of the Tour de France (which has an estimated 2 billion viewers) will showcase Yorkshire to those who follow the race on TV and no doubt persuade some of them to visit our region.
Yorkshire has a long history with the Tour de France as the region had generated more stage winners than any other region in England. These stage winners include Brian Robinson from Huddersfield who was the first British winner of a Tour de France stage in 1958, and Barry Hoban from Wakefield who won eight stages between 1967 & 1975. Both Brian and Barry are naturally backing the Yorkshire bid to host the opening stage in 2016, as are current leading British cyclists Mark Cavendish, whose mother comes from Yorkshire, and Ben Swift who hails from Rotherham.
If you would like to see the opening stage of the 2016 Tour de France, please sign up to “Back Le Bid” as I did.
Rebecca and her bike near the Hull constituency office (I cycle there from the train station!)
UPDATE
The Back le Bid campaign is gathering pace and has now hit the national media:
Links:
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Pakistan Travel Problems – a positive response from the European Commission
Following up on the post I made last week about the problems that have hit Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) over the last few months; I can now update readers further. The European Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas h…
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Improving disaster response in Europe
As part of my parliamentary duties on the European Parliament’s “environment” committee (environment, public health and food safety) , I am following a proposal on the European Union’s “civil protection mechanism”. Yesterday I met the European Commissi…
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Manufacturing and engineering – still strong in Yorkshire
The Yorkshire and Humber region has a long history in manufacturing and engineering and (despite the impression sometimes given these days), the region still has many successful businesses in these sectors. It’s important to remember that although there is a lot of media attention on financial services, manufacturing still contributes more to the country´s GDP (12% versus 9%).
Last Friday, I attended the Dods “Yorkshire 2012 and beyond” conference, at the Leeds Metropolitan University. The conference looked at what can be done to generate economic growth in the region. I participated in a panel on international transport links (rather appropriate for someone who travels from Leeds to Brussels by train most weeks…).
During this event, I spoke to a representative of the glass industry, who informed me that his sector had some problems recruiting, particularly getting young people to enter the industry. The age structure of some companies (too many workers retiring in the near future) means that bringing in new young recruits is very important for long term workforce planning. The representative reminded me that careers in manufacturing are not just on the production front, manufacturers also need people to do marketing, finance, human resources etc.
The previous weekend, I had the had the pleasure of attending the 60th anniversary celebrations of Cummins Turbo Technologies, a world leading manufacturer of turbochargers whose UK operations are primarily based in Huddersfield. The company began life as Holset Engineering in 1952 set up by a Mr Holmes and a Mr Croset and was bought by Cummins in 1973.
On offer to visitors were tours of the research and development facilities and the production line, engineering themed games and puzzles for children, a film of the history of the company, a brass band, a rock band, a bouncy castle, and pie and peas for lunch (good Yorkshire food!).
I was taken on a tour by Dr Dave Green, Director of Engineering who was an excellent tour guide. Thanks to Dave I can quite honestly say I have a far greater appreciation of the world of turbo chargers than I did before. For the uninitiated, turbo chargers are an integral part of diesel engines and in the case of Cummins’ products, go in cars, vans, trucks, tractors and power generators all over the world.
Cummins is a global company with 1,100 of its staff based in Huddersfield, where the company’s global research and development and European manufacturing takes place. The company naturally recruits many engineers to work at its Huddersfield site, although Dr Green informed me there are not always enough UK candidates, so the company has to go further afield to other European countries and even India and China to recruit sufficient engineers. With future recruitment in mind, the company goes into local schools to encourage children to think of a career in engineering and works closely with nearby universities with engineeing faculties including Huddersfield and Bradford.
My conversations in recent weeks seem to indicate that not enough young people in the region are considering careers in manufacturing and engineering, despite highly successful companies that are able to offer good career prospects. It seems amazing that this is happening at time of very high youth unemployment. The government´s recently launched apprenticeship scheme is one way that this trend can be reversed, but it is too soon to evaluate its success right now.
I would be curious to hear the views of others on how we can encourage young people in our region to go into manufacturing and engineering.
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Pakistan Travel Problems
Pakistan International Airlines has been hit by a number of problems in recent years. The EU has had worries regarding the airline’s safety record, such as in 2007 when the majority of it’s fleet was banned from landing at EU airports following a numbe…
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Job Adverts: Office Manager/Caseworker and Communications Officer/Constituency Liaison
I am currently looking to hire staff in my constituency office in Kingston-Upon-Hull. Please see the two job ads below.
Title: Office Manager/Caseworker
Location: Kingston-Upon-Hull
Details: Liberal Democrat MEP Rebecca Taylor is seeking an experienced Office Manager for her Yorkshire and Humber constituency office in Kingston-Upon-Hull. The role will involve organising the administration of the constituency office, including managing budgets, managing and researching constituency casework and representing Rebecca when constituents contact the office for assistance. Tasks will also include organising Rebecca’s visits in Yorkshire and the Humber Region, meeting local stakeholders and maintaining a link between Rebecca’s work in Brussels and the Liberal Democrat Party in the region.
Ensuring that the Brussels office and the Regional office communicate and coordinate their work effectively will be essential. Assisting constituents with EU related casework will be helped by working with the Brussels office and overseeing any future casework staff and/or interns.
Applicants must have:
· at least 3 years office management experience, preferably in a similar role, assisting the public with casework or working in government/politics
· a very good knowledge of Yorkshire and the Humber Region.
Preferably, a candidate would have:
· knowledge of the European Union and the European political process
The ideal candidate would be a self-starter, able to work independently and as part of a team. They would take a pro-active approach towards assisting constituents, understanding how the EU affects them and how to help them with their inquiries. The successful candidate must be sympathetic to the aims and values of the Liberal Democrats. Knowledge of Data Protection, Health and Safety law and experience of project management will be useful.
Salary: In the region of £20-25,000 p/a depending on experience
Contact: Please send a CV and application letter to Rebecca Taylor at rtaylorapps@gmail.com
In your application letter please explain how you meet the two essential criteria, and where relevant, the preferable criteria. Applicants not meeting the two essential criteria will not be considered and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Closing date/Start date: The deadline for applications is Friday 25th May, with interviews planned for Friday 1st June
Title: Communications Officer/Constituency Liaison
Location: Kingston-Upon-Hull
Details: Liberal Democrat MEP Rebecca Taylor is seeking a Media Officer for her Yorkshire and Humber constituency office in Kingston-Upon-Hull. The role will involve managing Rebecca’s Press and Communications output, following European Union political developments, as well as the situation locally and nationally. Tasks will include, drafting press releases, identifying key issues in Rebecca’s Parliamentary work and relevant stories in the UK press, establishing contact with journalists and organising Rebecca’s web profile. They could also include representing Rebecca, accompanying her on visits and meeting local stakeholders on her behalf.
Key to the role will be the ability to work well with the Liberal Democrat Press Team in the European Parliament and the constituency offices of other MEPs and MPs, where relevant. The ability to communicate Rebecca’s work to constituents, to liaise with the Brussels office and to identify the issues key to the Liberal Democrats in Europe will be essential.
Applicants must have:
· experience of press/communications work, preferably in a similar role.
· a very good knowledge of Yorkshire and the Humber Region.
Preferably, a candidate would have:
· knowledge of the European Union and the European political process
The ideal candidate would be a self-starter, able to work independently and as part of a team. They would have the ability to understand and interpret developments and communicate them to Rebecca’s constituents. They would have a good grasp of how the EU affects citizens and how citizens perceive the EU. They would also be able to demonstrate where they have performed a communications role successfully in the past. The successful candidate must be sympathetic to the aims and values of the Liberal Democrats
Salary: In the region of £20-25,000 p/a depending on experience. The role will involve working 4 days a week for Rebecca and 1 for the regional party, with salary divided accordingly
Contact: Please send a CV and application letter to Rebecca Taylor at rtaylorapps@gmail.com
In your application letter please explain how you meet the two essential criteria, and where relevant, the preferable criteria. Applicants not meeting the two essential criteria will not be considered and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Closing date/Start date: The deadline for applications is Friday 25th May, with interviews planned for Friday 1st June
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