The Forgotten Tribe – British MEPs

“We punched above our weight” and “worked for the best interests of Northern Ireland plc” was the verdict from former MEP Jim Nicholson at a roundtable discussion organised on the back of the publication of a new book: The Forgotten Tribe – British MEPs.

Another panellists Dr Giada Lagana wrote the chapter on the contribution of Northern Ireland MEP. Chaired by QUB’s Dr Viviane Gravey, the book’s coeditor David Harley was also joined by former SDLP policy officer Councillor Carl Whyte on Monday 23 January 2023.

You can watch back to hear the panellists’ remarks and the subsequent Q&A session.

The Forgotten Tribe – British MEPs is published by John Harper (in paperback and ebook format) for £19/€21 and is sometimes available on Amazon UK.

Coeditors Dianne Hayter and David Harley collated contributions from former MEPs and UK officials, Westminster politicians, journalists and even MEP family members: Lorin Bell-Cross, David Blackman, William Bethell, Michael Crick, Alan Donnelly, Brendan Donnelly, Duncan Enright, Tom Fieldhouse, David Gow, Rachel Johnson, Richard Johnson, John Kerr, Neil Kinnock, Giada Lagana, Alistair Lexden, Roger Liddle, David Lidington, Caroline Lucas, David McAllister, Giles Merritt, Claude Moraes, Tom Newton Dunn, Caroline Nokes, Rory Palmer, George Parker, Anita Pollack, George Robertson, Ivan Rogers, Michael Russell, Joshua Stratford, Christopher Tugendhat, Graham Watson and Gareth Williams.

Former UK permanent representative Ivan Rogers told the authors: “The EU as a whole benefitted hugely from the expertise, the wisdom, the breadth, the temperament, the professionalism, the humour and even the constructive healthy scepticism of so many good British MEPs over the decades. Those contributions won’t be forgotten, and the imprint on what the EU has now become is indelible.”

The event was organised by the Irish Association for Contemporary European Studies (IACES), the European Parliament Liaison Office, and Queen’s University Belfast.