The Vaughan Legacy

Letter to the Western Mail (and shortly all the other main local papers in Wales)...

Dear Editor,

On the face of it, Derek Vaughan’s voting record in the European Parliament – at 93%  - makes for an impressive statistic. In my experience, however, it always pays to get behind the statistics to get the real story.

So, for example, in a vote in the European Parliament on March 12th, 2014, Mr. Vaughan backtracked on a prior commitment (made in a vote on October 9^th,  2013) to ensure that all unconventional gas projects were subject to mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment. This follows a vote on November 21^st, 2012 in which Mr. Vaughan opposed a motion – co-sponsored by fellow Welsh MEP Jill Evans – to place a moratorium on “fracking” until key safety concerns are fully addressed.

So as readers can see, statistics do not tell us the whole story. In fact they disguise the abject betrayal by Mr. Vaughan of coalfield communities that are being earmarked for the large scale exploitation of our abundant gas resources without even mininal environmental safeguards.

It’s not just about the impressive size of Mr. Vaughan’s voting record, it’s what he does with his vote that counts.

Yours Sincerely,

Jim Dunckley.