Melissa Maynard is a Conservative councillor on East Hampshire District Council representing a ward in Alton and she has sixth place on the Conservative list of candidates for the south west of England constituency in the European Elections on May 22.
With the sun shining and heavy showers threatening, she was campaigning amongst the shoppers in Marlborough High Street on Saturday (May 10) supported by a number of local councillors, Wiltshire councillor Richard Gamble who chairs the Devizes constituency party, and Claire Perry, the constituency MP.
The south west constituency sends six MEPs to the European Parliament. So at sixth on the list, Melissa Maynard knows there is a lot of campaigning for her and the party to do if she’s to win a seat.
As the more votes a party gets, the more Euro MPs it is likely to send to Brussels, every vote is worth winning. It is a huge constituency stretching from Gloucestershire and Bristol to the Scilly Isles and including Gibraltar – the only British Overseas Territory that is part of the European Union.
“I drive 400 miles a week campaigning, which isn’t a problem because it’s all so beautiful.”
She knows the south west well because her sister lives in Somerset and her husband is in the Royal Navy and has been based at Plymouth.
She has not campaigned in either the Scilly Isles or Gibraltar. Isn’t it a bit strange to have Gibraltar tacked onto the south west constituency? “Someone needs to represent them. They’re entitled to representation – it makes sense they’re part of the south west constituency. And they’ve got problems our MEPs have been addressing in the Parliament.”
Why does she want to be an MEP? “Personally I like the system where one can specialise. You can be on a European Parliamentary committee for your full term. You can perhaps achieve more when you really get to know your subject. Sometimes change takes a long time – you need to stick with it. Someone who’s there for a long time, who’s committed, can make the difference. Politics is about persistence.”
MNO asked Melissa Maynard what kind of response she had had while campaigning: “I think the Conservative vote is holding up quite well. I’ve seen the polls, but they don’t reflect the work I’m doing.”
She had spent much of the previous day doing telephone canvassing: “It’s a good way to hear people’s views. The majority of people know we’ve got to get change in Europe and the Conservatives are the only party to do that. UKIP are simply not engaged in Europe – they don’t even turn up much.”
“What Conservatives want is a re-framed Europe. A Europe that only does what states can’t do. There has been a bit of mission creep. We must get back to what Europe was meant to be.”
She believes the single market is the cornerstone of the EU: “It’s why Britain belongs to Europe.”
The Conservative party is committed to an in/out referendum on the EU, does she think that is wise? “Yes, I do – because I think as a nation we need to move on – as a party too – we need clarity as to where our destiny lies. And most people have never had the chance to give their opinion on Europe.”
On East Hampshire District Council Melissa Maynard holds the portfolio for energy and the environment. What does she think about onshore wind farms? “There is, though many people don’t know it, a serious energy crisis in this country. We need a mix of energy types – including renewables. Wind farms? It’s a matter of aesthetics. There’s something majestic about them – but that’s a matter of opinion and taste.”
“We have to do something. The cost to our pockets and to the environment is only going to rise. We need investment in renewables to make them more efficient.”
And what does she think about shale gas and fracking? “Fracking could be part of the answer. At the moment I am content that the technology is well enough regulated here to carry out pilot projects.” Unlike, she added under her breath, some other countries…
“My issue is not with the technicalities. If fracking can form a bridge from dirty fossil fuels to clean renewables – then that is great. My concern is that investment in shale gas will dilute investment in renewables.”
And then she was away to meet voters shopping at Marlborough’s Saturday market.
UKIP heading to take four of the six MEP seats at the EU elections predicts Devizes party chairman
