Liberal Democrats launch European Parliament Election Campaign

1.10.43pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 5th May 2009

The Yorkshire and the Humber Liberal Democrats launch their campaign for the European Elections to be held on Thursday 4 June 2009.

Diana Wallis, the Liberal Democrat MEP for the region since 1999 and a Vice-President of the European Parliament, launched the campaign at a meeting of members and supporters. Speaking ahead of the meeting, she said:

"After the events of the past few weeks, this discredited Labour government now seen as finished and Liberal Democrats will take them on in their heartland here in Yorkshire and the Humber

"Liberal Democrats have successfully shown our ability to take the fight to Labour at a local level already as we have wrested control from them, either alone or in partnership, of city halls in Sheffield, Hull, Grimsby and Cleethorpes, Leeds, York, Huddersfield and elsewhere. We saw Greg Mulholland MP's stunning victory in Leeds North West in the General Election last time around.

"Also, in real votes in real ballot boxes since last summer, in local council by-elections across the region, from leafy North Yorkshire to inner city Leeds, it is the Liberal Democrats who come out top. In over 32,000 votes cast, Liberal Democrats came out ahead of both Conservative and Labour and well ahead of the BNP. On those figures we would double the number of Liberal Democrat MEPs in Yorkshire and the Humber.

"Let's be clear it's the Liberal Democrats who Labour really fear in this region.

President of the Liberal Democrats in the region, Lord Wallace of Saltaire, said:

"Our MEP, Diana Wallis, has worked hard to help local people get through tough economic times. She led the call to get banks under control in a report into the failure of Equitable Life she wrote for the European Parliament.

"The Liberal Democrats have been rated as the greenest party in Britain today by top experts - and Diana Wallis rated as Yorkshire and the Humber's greenest MEP. Diana has highlighted the danger to us all of climate change in the Arctic. She is calling for international action to protect us.

"Diana Wallis has backed international action on crime that has led to the arrest of thousands of suspected criminals. Lib Dems believe we should work with other countries to tackle drugs smuggling, organised crime and sex slavery. Diana championed an alert system to protect children across Europe.

"Conservatives won't deliver for our area The Conservatives are increasingly out of touch with people in Yorkshire and the Humber. Most people agree it makes sense to work with other countries on issues like crime, drugs and climate change. But Conservative and UKIP plans to isolate Britain make this impossible.

"On June 4th there is a great opportunity to get more Liberal Democrat MEPs elected to work for the people of Yorkshire and the Humber."

PHOTOGRAPH (L to R) Nader Fekri, Neil Poole, Diana Wallis MEP, James Monaghan, Rebecca Taylor and Stewart Arnold