"I hope the Tory MEPs will now support my salt, sugar, fat, calorie and alcohol labelling legislation," says Labour Leader - 2010-01-13

Labour Leader in the European Parliament Glenis Willmott today challenged the Brussels Tories to support their Westminster colleagues and vote for her proposals to make alcohol content and calorie content clearer across the EU.

The Conservatives' Health spokesperson, Andrew Lansley unveiled (today, Wednesday) a new Tory policy to scrap the current labelling system for units of alcohol, and also to start labelling the calorific content of alcoholic drinks. He is proposing labelling food with guideline daily amounts for the key nutrients such as fats, sugars and salts.

"Lansley said that we cannot legislate for the UK alone and that it needs to be done on a Europe-wide basis. For once I completely agree with him," she said.

"Alcoholic drinks are made and sold all over Europe, and we need the same fair standards to know what we are drinking regardless of its country of origin.

"Our 'common market' necessitates a shared labelling system for the food and drinks we consume. There is currently draft legislation before the European Parliament to do just that.

"As the MEP responsible for this legislation in the European Parliament for my political group, I have already submitted amendments to change this legislation to ensure compulsory labelling of the calorie content of alcohol, and compulsory "traffic light" labelling of all foods, so shoppers can see at a glance the levels of salt, sugar, fat and calories of the food they pick up off the shelf.

As well as being British Leader of the Labour MEPs, Glenis Willmott speaks on this issue for the 184 Socialist and Democrat MEPs from 27 different countries - the European Parliament's second largest political group.

"This contrasts starkly with the Tories and their self-enforced isolation. They must be kicking themselves, and David Cameron, for having left the European Parliament's largest Group of MEPs - cutting ties with the parties of President Sarkozy and Chancellor Merkel, only to throw themselves into the arms of Poles and Czechs with extremist and far-right links.

"I fear that both the Conservative front bench and their marginalised MEPs will now have great trouble in pursuing their new policies in the European Parliament, with so few friends and such limited power. We are voting on 26 new Commissioners this week, and none are from the Tory-dominated ECR Group" she concluded.

› Back