A comment piece in The Argus (May 7) on the European elections described the public’s interest in the European Parliament as “non-existent”.
Might this be because media coverage of the European Parliament is practically non-existent? It is difficult for people to take an interest in something they know nothing about.
I searched The Argus website for stories about the European Parliament. Twenty out of the top-50 stories are actually exclusively about British politics.
A massive 21 out of the top 50 stories are about Ukip and five are readers’ letters.
Only two articles within the top-50 could be considered articles about European politics itself.
There is plenty of interest going on in the European Parliament. For example, in March, the Parliament overwhelmingly rejected calls to regulate the trading of seeds, which would have outlawed “seed swaps” like those held regularly in Brighton and Hove.
In April, the Parliament approved new regulations about clinical trials making it more difficult for pharmaceutical companies to hide negative results.
If issues such as these were widely reported, people would be able to take more of an interest.
Tracey Hill, Labour MEP candidate for the South East
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