Working for the South East

With over 8 million people living in the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex, South East England has a higher population than 12 of the 27 EU member states.

It's cities and towns are a great mix of the old and the new: the large urban conurbations at Brighton, Southampton, and Guilford; the historical cities of Oxford, Canterbury and Hastings; and the many beautiful market towns that lie scattered between.

For farmers, residents and tourists alike, the environment is an important part of our daily lives in the South East. In total 47% of the region is protected by some form of environmental designation and farming accounts for 62% of land.

The South East has a strong and vibrant economy. Given its proximity to London the South East is a popular destination for business and industry. Many hi-tech companies base themselves in the South East, such as Microsoft, Sun Microsystems and Oracle.

The South East has excellent travel links to Europe and beyond. The Eurostar connects to the region to the continent; ships from Dover ferry people to France and Belgium; while Gatwick, Heathrow and smaller regional airports fly visitors here from all over the world. In addition, Portsmouth and Southampton contain two of the oldest and most strategically important ports in all of the UK.

15 Most Recent Stories From Catherine Bearder MEP News Stories

Wed 14th Jul 2010:

Victory for South East fishermen

Fishermen from South East England have returned triumphantly from Brussels after putting their case for reform to the most powerful decision maker on European fisheries policy.

Fri 9th Jul 2010:

Fairer agriculture in the South East

Catherine Bearder MEP has written to the regional press about the Parliament's vote on the future of the CAP. Please see below for the full text:

Wed 7th Jul 2010:

If the Commissioner can't come to Hastings, Hastings will go to the Commissioner

Hastings' Lib Dem Euro MP Catherine Bearder will take a delegation from Hastings to meet with the European Fisheries Commissioner, Maria Damanaki, to explain to her the problems faced by the traditional fishing communities across South East England.

Tue 6th Jul 2010:

Proposed Thames Water Reservoir at Abingdon

This week Catherine Bearder MEP wrote a letter to the local press in Oxford on the proposed Thames Water reservoir at Abingdon. Please see below for the full text:

Thu 17th Jun 2010:

Food labelling great for South East consumers and farmers

Liberal Democrat MEP Catherine Bearder today welcomed the European Parliament vote for mandatory food labelling.

Fri 11th Jun 2010:

Catherine visits Millennium Seed Bank in West Sussex

Last week Catherine Bearder MEP visited the Millennium Seed Bank project at Wakehurst Place in West Sussex.

Thu 3rd Jun 2010:

Olympics bring students together at Stratford

Last month S2R Europe, a project run by the educational social media network Radiowaves, took students from Ravensbourne School in Bromley and Colegiul National Banatean from Timisoara in Romania to visit the Olympic Park in Stratford.

Wed 2nd Jun 2010:

Beach cleanups start now

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) has suggested that three beaches in the South East (Hastings, Bexhill and Littlestone) will fail to meet new environmental standards unless immediate action is taken. To fight the increase in untreated sewage being pumped into the water on our beaches, new European standards on water quality will be introduced in 2015 and many beaches across the UK could fall short of these new environmental standards.

Thu 20th May 2010:

MEPs demand CAP simplification

Catherine Bearder, Euro-MP for South East England, today called for the European Commission and national governments to cut bureaucracy and make farmers' lives easier.

Wed 19th May 2010:

Building standards will cut energy bills and emissions

Today Catherine Bearder MEP wrote a letter to the regional press in South East England on building standards and energy efficiency. Please see below for the full text:

Fri 7th May 2010:

Congratulations and Commiserations

Following the General Election whose result is still to be resolved it has been a mixed night for the Liberal Democrats. Nationally, we gained a greater number of votes and a greater percentage of the vote than ever before, but we lost seats.

Tue 6th Apr 2010:

Stop passing the buck across the Channel

Once again the residents of Kent were forced to pay the costs of a French industrial dispute as SeaFrance was forced to cancel many of its Easter weekend services.

Wed 31st Mar 2010:

MEP invites Fisheries Commissioner to Hastings

Euro MP Catherine Bearder has invited the Fisheries Commissioner to visit Hastings to see firsthand the damage caused to fishing communities by the UK's disproportionate quota system.

Tue 23rd Mar 2010:

Protecting the South East's small boat fishing fleets

At a meeting with Maria Damanaki, the new Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Catherine Bearder MEP asked Commissioner Damanaki about what she intends to do to help fishermen in South East England. See the full text of her question below:

Wed 10th Mar 2010:

Welcome cut to red tape for South East's small businesses

South East England's Lib Dem Euro MPs have both welcomed today's European Parliament vote in favour of exempting struggling small businesses from producing onerous annual accounts.

Earlier Stories

Complete archive on the official site