Glenis Willmott, Leader of Labour MEPs and spokesperson on health, said, “We have to call the government’s commitment to public health into question.  They are willing to forge ahead with their disastrous reorganisation of the NHS, but will not take the simple measure of standardising tobacco packaging, which will greatly reduce the attractiveness of tobacco for the next generation.”

“Tobacco kills half of all its regular users, and the pack itself is the last place the industry has left to advertise its wares.  Some packaging designs are clearly aimed at young people, with young girls targeted by thin, pink, flowery boxes that look more like lipsticks.  Standardised packs would put an end to these marketing tactics.”

Linda McAvan MEP, the European Parliament’s Rapporteur on the Tobacco Products Directive said, “The EU is revising its rules on tobacco and Labour MEPs want to introduce standardised packaging across Europe.  We are also pushing for large pictorial health warnings and a ban on flavourings.”

“Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the UK, the EU and across the world.  Australia, one of the world leaders in tobacco control, has already implemented standardised packaging and the UK is falling behind in the fight against tobacco.  We are disappointed the UK government has backed down, but Labour MEPs will continue to push for standardised packaging at EU level.”

The campaign “Action on Stroke Month” is organised by the Stroke Association, and is the charity’s annual drive to increase awareness of stroke, the impact it has on people, and the help available to those affected.

Glenis said: “I’m delighted to support the campaign.  Those who survive a stroke and those who care for them, often face a future which is incredibly difficult; physically, psychologically and emotionally.

“Stroke victims and their families can often feel isolated and ignored.    This May will be “Action on Stroke Month” and I hope that as many people as possible will sign up to pledge their support on the Stroke Association website at  www.stroke.org.uk

“As Labour’s health spokesperson in Europe, I’m actually steering new laws through the European Parliament at the moment on clinical trials, work that has a real relevance for research into strokes and other medical emergencies.”

Glenis Willmott, Leader of Labour MEPs and spokesperson for health and food, welcomed the news

“The UK government was wrong not to support restricting these harmful pesticides and I’m glad that the ban will go ahead,” Mrs Willmott said.

“Many of my constituents are rightly concerned that the bee population is in crisis worldwide.  In the UK bees have declined by 30% since 2E007.  As around three quarters of crops are reliant on pollination by bees, this is something we have to take very seriously.”

“Labour MEPs have been pushing for action on this for years.  This January the European Food Safety Authority stated that three types of neonicotinoid pesticides are harmful to bees, and their use should be restricted.  Now we must take urgent action.”

“The European Commission was right to push EU countries on this.  Clearly the British government has listened more to the lobby of the big pesticide companies than to the concerns of their own constituents.”

“The only way we can have a real impact on saving collapsing bee colonies is by working together at EU level.  Labour MEPs will be closely monitoring the implementation and effects of the restriction to see whether further action is needed.”

So far EU governments have not been able to reach a majority either for or against the proposal, with the UK government failing to support action on the pesticides.

The European Commission is now taking the proposal to its appeals committee.  If Member States are still unable to reach an agreement, the Commission would be able to take the decision to ban the pesticides.

Glenis Willmott, Leader of Labour MEPs and spokesperson for health and food, said “many of my constituents are rightly concerned that the bee population is in crisis worldwide.  In the UK bees have declined by 30% since 2007.  As around three quarters of crops are reliant on pollination by bees, this is something we have to take very seriously.”

“Labour MEPs have been pushing for action on this for years.  This January the European Food Safety Authority stated that three types of neonicotinoid pesticides are harmful to bees, and their use should be restricted.  Now we must take urgent action.”

“I am glad the European Commission has pushed the British government on this.  Clearly the government has listened more to the lobby of the big pesticide companies than to the concerns of their own constituents.  Owen Paterson has one last chance to side with scientists, environmental campaigners and citizens and vote in favour of restricting these harmful pesticides.”

Labour MEP Glenis Willmott, has been demanding European action on SCID, sometimes referred to as “bubble boy” disease after David Vetter, a boy with SCID, lived for 12 years in a plastic, germ-free bubble.

As Labour’s Public Health Spokesperson, Glenis has successfully persuaded the European Parliament’s Environment & Public Health Committee to hold a special debate where the European Commission will respond to concerns about the lack of action to deal with the disorder.

Glenis explained: “Babies born with SCID lack certain white blood cells, meaning their immune system does not protect them against a wide range of viruses, bacteria and fungi.

“SCID is extremely serious; if it is not spotted, then the baby normally dies before their first birthday. Yet it can be relatively easily and cheaply diagnosed and the disease can be cured. However, only certain US states and pilot areas across Europe currently screen for SCID at birth.

“Although the condition is rare, the costs to treat a baby that has not been diagnosed on time are enormous, makingscreening cost-effective.

“Almost two years ago I met with some East Midlands families who had been affected, and it is this connection with the lives of real people which has kept me campaigning. We can and must take action.

“The EU has a role to play in rare diseases, which are often neglected by individual countries due to the small numbers of patients. We already have effective EU action to incentivise the development of new treatments for rare diseases, and now I want to see EU action on newborn screening for rare diseases. I’m sure that most MEPs will be supportive and I hope that the Commission will suggest some practical steps for us to take.”

Commenting on today’s House of Lords Report on EU police and criminal justice measures, the Leader of Labour’s MEPs said it was clear that any UK opt-out could have “negative repercussions” for UK internal security.

Glenis said: “We now live in a world where crime, especially terrorist crime, is global and the need for law enforcement agencies to cooperate across borders is vital.

“Yet the Government so far has seemed hell-bent on pulling out of some 130 European police and judicial cooperation measures, including the European Arrest Warrant.

“There’s no doubt that this needs urgent reform, but it has made it possible for British victims to get justice by reducing extradition times from several months to 48 hours. The UK will be forced to revert to slower, less efficient agreements with individual countries making it more difficult for the UK police force to do their job.”

The Government has faced overwhelming opposition from influential groups including the UK Police Force, the Law Society of England and Wales and a pressure group called ‘Justice Across Borders’ who have pleaded with them to re-think their strategy at a time where cross-border crime is on the increase.

“Under the guise of repatriating powers back to Britain, real evidence shows that a UK opt out from the EU Justice and Home Affairs co-operation could have devastating effects on our criminal and justice system.

“Today’s damning report by the House of Lords confirms these fears and goes even further saying that such a decision would have serious implications for the UK’s internal security.”

Glenis Willmott, Labour’s European health spokesperson has co-signed a Written Declaration in the European Parliament calling on the EU to support the World Health Organisation’s activities in dealing with multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB).

Glenis explained: “People may think tuberculosis is a disease of the past, but sadly it remains a threat in Britain and beyond, with London having the highest TB rate of any capital city in Western Europe. The disease is potentially fatal and can leave patients with lasting side effects.

“We are calling on the EU to back the WHO ‘Roadmap to prevent and combat drug-resistant tuberculosis’ and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

“TB already costs the European Union around €750 million (£640 million) per year and the WHO estimates that, if their roadmap is not implemented, the economic loss to the European region could be as much as $12 billion (£7.5 billion) within five years.

“Europe must take action to support the work of the WHO and to consign TB to the history books.

“It’s only this kind of regulation which will force manufacturers to get a grip on their supply chain,” she continued.

“It’s shocking to see how widespread the horsemeat scandal is.

“In 2011 the European Parliament supported my proposals for country of origin labelling for meat in processed foods but my plans were blocked by EU governments, including the UK government. I insisted that this was a serious issue, and obliged the European Commission to look into it and report back by the end of this year.”

“I was always told that the supply chain for meat in processed foods was too complex to allow for labelling.  Now we’ve seen what those complexities can hide.”

“It’s time we had a truly transparent system so that consumers know what they’re eating and where it’s come from.”

“Many EU countries are currently cutting back on food safety inspections, which are vital for preventing fraud in the food chain.”

“If the EU doesn’t put in place a better inspection system there will be similar cases in the future.”

“We also have to seriously look at the issue of the banned anti-inflammatory horse drug ”phenylbutazone” - known as ”bute” – in the food chain, which is a public health concern,” Glenis  Willmott said.

Welcoming the vote, Glenis Willmott, Leader of Labour’s MEPs Labour Euro MP, said: “76% of people in a recent poll said they wanted a cap on bankers bonuses, and we’ve delivered that.”

But she was critical of the UK government who opposed the reforms.

She said: “The Conservatives showed that they continue to defend the pay and salaries of the highest paid, while ordinary working people pay the price for banks’ excessive risk taking.”

In 2010, Europe introduced rules making sure bonuses were deferred and could be clawed back, and also that bonuses in cash were limited.  The banks were told then to introduce a ratio between fixed salary and bonus elements.

Glenis said: “They failed to do so, and it was that failure to self-regulate on bonuses or to exercise restraint that has now resulted in a bonus cap.   The salary to bonus ration will be 1:1, or 1:2 if agreed by shareholders.

“These rules will put an end to an unsustainable banking model where the UK bank RBS which is 84% taxpayer owned, while suffering £5.2 billion losses, £1.1 billion fines for mis-selling for payment protection insurance and £390 million fines for Libor-fixing, were still paying over £600 million in bonuses. This is neither ethical nor sustainable.

“People want action so that we put an end to the excessive risk culture which lead to taxpayer bail-outs and bank collapses.  To fail to support these changes, the Conservatives have shown they are isolated and out of touch.”

The ETS is at the heart of the EU’s climate change policy.  As the only system of its kind, it has helped to make the EU a world leader in the fight against global warming, with emissions from Europe’s power stations falling by 1.74% each year.

The aim of the ETS is to use market forces to drive investment in low-carbon and green technologies and thus combat climate change.  The EU set a cap on the amount of carbon that can be emitted by factories and power plants and emissions permits were then either allocated for free or auctioned, with companies able to trade these with each other.  A company that reduced its carbon emissions would therefore require fewer permits and could profit from selling unused permits on to other companies.  This would provide a financial incentive for companies to reduce their carbon emissions by investing in clean, low-carbon technology, which is needed in order for the EU to meet its target of reducing CO2 emissions by 20% on 1990 levels by 2020.

However, the reduction in industrial output due to the economic downturn, combined with an over-allocation of carbon credits in the previous two rounds, has undermined the ETS by creating a surplus of emissions permits, which means the price per permit has fallen.  The price of carbon is now below €4/tonne – much lower than the anticipated €30/tonne when the scheme was first launched – and as a result it has become more cost-effective for firms to pay for permits than to try to reduce their carbon emissions.

The report we voted on today proposed a short-term reduction in the number of permits auctioned – so-called ‘backloading’ as 900 million permits that were due to be released would be held back.  It was hoped that delaying the release of permits would push the price of carbon back up and help to keep the scheme viable.

We always knew the vote would be tight, with the EPP (the European Parliament’s main centre-right group) split on the issue and many UK Conservatives determined to vote against.  This was particularly absurd because their own Government supports the proposal, with UK energy secretary, Ed Davey, saying a rejection would imperil investments in green technologies.

The UK Government has already agreed to set a minimum price for carbon in order to give a degree of long-term certainty and encourage low-carbon investment, but with the European price having fallen so low, this will actually have the effect of putting UK firms at a disadvantage unless the EU-wide price of carbon can be pushed back up.

Climate change is not confined within national borders and so it’s clear we need to work together with our European partners to combat it.  However, there are fears that this rejection could lead to EU Member States all developing their own schemes, leading to a complex patchwork of climate legislation that will only serve to ensure companies are not operating on a level playing field and inhibit the single market.

Within industry itself, many big companies recognise that the ETS is important for economic growth, jobs and investment.  As for fears about interference in the market, even major global corporations like Shell have argued that sometimes intervention is necessary in order to restore confidence in the market.  It’s also important to remember that the proposal was for a one off intervention to buy time while reforms to the system were considered.

The rejection of this proposal not only severely weakens the ETS and risks the EU not meeting its own carbon reduction targets, it also damages the credibility if the EU as a world leader in climate policy.  As the IEA chief economist, Dr Faith Birol, highlighted today, saving the ETS “is important not only for Europe but also for the global fight against climate change.”