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Welcome to the website of Phil Bennion MEP

Phil Bennion at the European ParliamentPhillip Bennion is the Lib Dem MEP for the West Midlands region. The Staffordshire farmer and economic policy expert took over from Liz Lynne who stood down after more than 12 years. He was elected to second place on the Lib Dem list of candidates at the last European elections in 2009, which use a party list voting system.

Phil Bennion says: "I am determined to fight for the vital interests of the whole of the region in the EU. From the shire counties to the manufacturing heart of the nation in Birmingham, our region's economic and environmental future will be shaped by our relationship with the EU.

"Literally hundreds of thousands of local jobs depend on it, so I will do my best to make sure we punch our weight in the corridors of power, whether in Brussels or London. I have always been pro-European. I am a strong supporter of a more liberal and democratic EU that concentrates on what it should be doing as simply and efficiently as possible. We are stronger together and would be much poorer apart."

Welcome to my website. The regional constituency office which handles casework and communications is based in Tamworth. Tel: 01827 312100 Email: office@philbennion.org See contacts for further details.

Recent updates

  • Phil Bennion and his dog inspecting his biomass crop
    Article: May 17, 2012

    Battery hen cages will have been eliminated from every EU country by the end of the year, EU Health Commissioner John Dalli has announced.

    Speaking at a meeting of the European Agriculture Committee in Brussels this week, Dalli also said that 16 Member States are now expected to be compliant with the ban on sow stalls - small boxes where pigs can stand but barely move about - by the end of this year.

  • Mobile Phone
    Article: May 11, 2012

    Using your mobile phone abroad will be cheaper from this summer after Euro MPs voted to cut roaming charges again.

    The new legal limits set by the European Parliament in Brussels mean mobile phone calls from one EU country to another will cost no more than 28p per minute, while the cap on SMS charges is down to 8p per message.

  • Phil Bennion MEP at Birmingham Airport with Nick Clegg, airport CEO Paul Kehoe and Birmingham Council's Lib Dem group leader Paul Tilsley. Pic courtesy Birmingham Airport. ()
    Article: May 10, 2012

    West Midlands Lib Dem Euro MP Phil Bennion has spoken out against a call in a European Parliament report to ban budget airlines from offering low fares with strict limits on hand baggage allowance.
    An 'own initiative' report by local Tory MEP Philip Bradbourn on regional airports and aviation was adopted by the European Parliament in Brussels this week.
    Phil Bennion said he backed the report overall as it called for regional airports such as Birmingham to be developed to boost regional growth and jobs, but he was concerned by a compromise amendment added by the Transport Committee calling for a generous common upper limit for hand baggage for all flights.
    If carried into law such a rule could see budget airlines like Ryanair and Easyjet having to drastically increase fares or even redesign the interiors of their planes at huge cost.
    Phil Bennion said: "There is a lot of good stuff in the Bradbourn report and as it is not legislative I voted for it. Overall it strikes a good balance between the important role of regional aviation in boosting regional economic competitiveness while opposing proliferation of too many regional airports.
    "However I don't agree with paragraph 13 which is a compromise amendment added by the Transport Committee, where I am a substitute member but did not have a vote.
    "Encouraging people to travel light not only means lower fares but also makes good environmental sense as fares more closely reflect the carbon footprint of each passenger.
    "If low hand baggage limits were banned, fares overall would go up.
    "Airlines should be free to offer different types of fares, with or without limited baggage allowances. I don't think low hand baggage limits are a breach of competition law at all.
    "The effect of this proposal would be to force budget airlines with smaller planes to offer the same hand baggage allowance as long distance jumbo jets. This would not only increase fares, it would be extremely difficult technically on a small regional jet where the lockers are not very deep. There simply is not enough space in a narrow fuselage."
    Phil added that he was also concerned by the stress in the amended report on promoting commercial activities as a major income stream for airports.
    "An airport should fundamentally be an airport, not be padded out with a huge shopping malls outside town centres subsidising landing charges which passengers are forced to walk through.
    "This idea could lead to a vicious circle that favours the largest airports like Heathrow with huge retail centres attached. Regional airports could lose out.
    "I support more long distance flights at Birmingham on a longer runway but not building a new Bull Ring at the site to keep up with pressure to subsidise landing charges."
    Phil said that he also backed calls by the ALDE group of Lib Dem MEPs for more stress on better connections for air travellers with rail and bus transport.
    ENDS

  • Phil Bennion MEP with Norman Lamb, Minister in the Business department
    Article: May 2, 2012

    Liberal Democrat Euro MPs are taking action to increase the pressure on multinational companies to pay their taxes, especially in the developing world.

    Last year big multinational companies operating in the developing world avoided paying taxes of approximately $165 billion to host governments.

    Lib Dem MEPs have launched a new campaign - 'Own, Up, Pay Up!' - to shed light on the issue and to prevent future financial malpractice among EU multinationals.

    West Midlands MEP Phil Bennion is backing a petition launched by Sharon Bowles MEP, the chair of the European Parliament's influential Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, to support moves to get tax-dodging multinationals to pay their fair share.

    Sharon has taken her campaign one step further by tabling far-reaching amendments to the EU Transparency and Accountancy Directives.

  • Phil Bennion MEP with Ayoub Khan, Cabdulqaddir Rummi and members of the Somali community at the Arrahma mosque and business centre in Small Heath
    Article: Apr 10, 2012

    Somalia's problems require an internationally backed development plan to rebuild the country, West Midlands Euro MP Phillip Bennion told leaders of Birmingham's Somali community on Saturday April 7th.

    The Lib Dem MEP and Cllr Ayoub Khan attended the Arrahma Mosque in Small Health as guests of Dr Cabdulqaddir Ruumi and leaders at the Mosque and accompanying community and business centre to discuss issues with the growing Somali community, both local and international.

  • European Parliament in Strasbourg
    Article: Apr 4, 2012

    EU governments must sit up and take notice after the biggest vote yet for the European Parliament to be based in just one city, says local Lib Dem Euro MP Phillip Bennion.

    Euro MPs including new West Midlands region MEP Phillip Bennion voted overwhelmingly last week in favour of a single seat for the European Parliament as part of their negotiating position with EU Member States on the Parliament's budget for 2013. A clause in the budget proposal calling for a single seat was passed with 429 MEPs in favour of a single seat, 184 against and 37 abstentions.

  • Phil Bennion at the European Parliament
    Article: Apr 2, 2012

    Lib Dem Euro MP Phillip Bennion has welcomed a plan to allow petitions which can attract a million signatures to forces issues to be debated in the European Parliament and potentially change the law.

    The European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) came into force on April 1st. It will allow popular campaigns outside party politics to bring proposals before the European Parliament and Council of Ministers if they can collect at least one million signatures across at least seven EU Member States.

  • Phil Bennion MEP at Birmingham Airport with Nick Clegg, airport CEO Paul Kehoe and Birmingham Council's Lib Dem group leader Paul Tilsley. Pic courtesy Birmingham Airport. ()
    Article: Mar 31, 2012

    Lib Dem Euro MP Phillip Bennion has voiced his strong support for plans to lengthen the runway at Birmingham airport as a huge boost to jobs in the region, as well as important for cutting carbon emissions.

    The new MEP for the West Midlands region visited the airport with Deputy PM Nick Clegg, Birmingham deputy leader Cllr Paul Tilsley and Solihull MP Lorely Burt last week to discuss progress on the airport's plans to extend their runway by 405 metres to allow many more long-haul flights.

  • Phil Bennion MEP and campaigners backing the call for multinationals to 'publish what you pay'
    Article: Mar 23, 2012
    Lib Dem Euro MP Phillip Bennion has pledged to back a campaign to force multinational companies to reveal how much they pay to extract oil, gas and other resources from third world countries.
    Development charity leaders supporting the 'Publish What You Pay' campaign met Phil and other MEPs in Brussels this week.
  • Phil Bennion and Vince Cable
    Article: Mar 21, 2012
    Today's budget has been hailed as a 'big step forward' to implementing a Lib Dem tax cut policy first proposed by the West Midlands region's new Euro MP Phillip Bennion.

    The Chancellor confirmed that he will raise the personal allowance before income tax is payable by a further £1100 in April 2013, which will benefit 1.9 million people in the West Midlands region and 21 million nationwide.

    Raising the personal allowance to £10,000 was a key plank in the 2010 Lib Dem manifesto - after Phil Bennion, a former member of the Lib Dems national policy committee, convinced Vince Cable to back the idea.

    Speaking from Brussels, Phil said: "This budget is a big step forward to delivering my tax cut policy. The detail has Lib Dem fingerprints over a large part of it. Vince Cable and Nick Clegg have done well to get this vital help for the lowest paid into a Tory Chancellor's budget.

    "Rather than cutting tax rates, the best way to help the low paid is to raise the income tax threshold, which proportionally benefits them the most. Labour of course did the exact opposite, imposing an extra 10p tax rate.

    "From April this year 102,000 people in the West Midlands will have stopped paying income tax since 2010. By next April this figure will rise to 176,000. We are on track to raising the threshold to £10,000 before the next general election, which was my plan and still is a key Lib Dem policy.

    "I am also pleased that the region I represent is a big winner from the budget in other ways. The top-up of the Growing Places Fund will give our Local Enterprise Partnerships a further £24.3 million to spend.

    "Birmingham will get up to £10 million for better broadband, which is desperately needed by businesses in the city trying to compete with other EU countries with much faster networks. I will continue to campaign for other measures to improve broadband in other areas.

    "I also welcome the pilot Rural Growth Network in the Coventry and Warwickshire LEP. Hopefully this initiative will be extended to other LEPs in other rural parts of the region in the near future.

    "I am also delighted to hear the Green Investment Bank will open next month. Adapting to a new green economy is essential for this region's prosperity, where we already have many specialist companies working on new green technologies. I hope companies across the West Midlands will make the most of this new access to finance for their low carbon business."

    ENDS

    Notes to editors:

    From April 2013, the income tax personal allowance will increase by £1,100 in cash terms to £9,205. This is the biggest cash increase ever. This means Britain is now close to meeting the £10,000 income tax threshold proposal, first developed by Phil Bennion during his eight years on the Liberal Democrats' Federal Policy Committee, which Vince Cable adopted and became a key plank of the Lib Dem manifesto.

    The change announced today will lift an additional 74,000 people in the West Midlands out of income tax and benefit over 1.9 million individuals.

    Under other changes in the budget, Local Enterprise Partnerships in the West Midlands will receive a further £24.3 million for the Growing Places Fund:

    - £3.7 million for Stoke and Staffordshire LEP

    - £2.7 million for The Marches LEP

    - £4.7 million for Black Country LEP

    - £1.8 million for Worcestershire LEP

    - £4.1 million for Coventry and Warwickshire LEP

    - £7.3 million for Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP

    This takes the total Growing Places Fund allocation for the West Midlands up to £74 million.

    The change in child benefit announced will benefit 50,000 people across the West Midlands region.

    Impact of Raising the Income Tax Threshold by Local Authority ( WEST MIDLANDS REGION )
    Number receiving a tax cut in 2013/14
    Total number removed from Income Tax since Labour
    April 2010 to April 2012
    April 2010 to April 2013
    United Kingdom
    23,150,000
    1,137,000
    1,969,000
    West Midlands
    1,900,000
    102,000
    176,000
    Herefordshire, County of UA
    60,200
    3,930
    6,740
    Stoke-on-Trent UA
    89,700
    4,820
    8,780
    Telford and Wrekin UA
    65,700
    4,570
    7,780
    Shropshire UA
    106,500
    6,920
    11,560
    Former Bridgnorth DC
    17,500
    960
    1,770
    Former North Shropshire DC
    24,300
    1,780
    2,840
    Former Oswestry BC
    13,600
    730
    1,110
    Former Shrewsbury and Atcham BC
    38,200
    2,510
    4,270
    Former South Shropshire DC
    13,000
    940
    1,560
    Staffordshire
    317,500
    14,960
    26,640
    Cannock Chase
    34,000
    1,880
    3,180
    East Staffordshire
    42,300
    2,630
    4,380
    Lichfield
    39,000
    1,320
    2,480
    Newcastle-under-Lyme
    45,900
    2,400
    4,180
    South Staffordshire
    39,200
    1,950
    3,640
    Stafford
    48,500
    1,570
    3,310
    Staffordshire Moorlands
    38,200
    1,760
    2,980
    Tamworth
    30,300
    1,460
    2,510
    Warwickshire
    219,000
    10,530
    17,970
    North Warwickshire
    25,300
    1,350
    2,060
    Nuneaton and Bedworth
    49,500
    2,540
    4,430
    Rugby
    43,100
    1,910
    3,230
    Stratford-on-Avon
    42,300
    2,250
    3,870
    Warwick
    58,700
    2,480
    4,380
    West Midlands MC
    832,300
    45,150
    76,530
    Birmingham
    284,900
    14,790
    24,670
    Coventry
    106,700
    5,840
    9,620
    Dudley
    115,000
    7,350
    11,470
    Sandwell
    90,700
    5,430
    9,390
    Solihull
    75,500
    3,120
    6,110
    Walsall
    83,400
    4,200
    7,840
    Wolverhampton
    76,200
    4,430
    7,430
    Worcestershire
    209,100
    11,130
    20,000
    Bromsgrove
    39,000
    1,510
    3,210
    Malvern Hills
    23,000
    1,340
    2,280
    Redditch
    30,900
    2,180
    3,960
    Worcester
    40,100
    1,830
    3,080
    Wychavon
    42,100
    1,660
    3,330
    Wyre Forest
    34,000
    2,710
    4,230

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