Conservative Members of the European Parliament for Eastern Region

website: www.easternregionconservativemeps.co.uk

Robert Sturdy, MEP

Robert was educated at Ashville College, Harrogate and trained in accountancy. He built up a substantial family farming business, mainly in arable crops, now run by his son Julian who stood as a candidate in the 2005 general election as the Conservative candidate for Scunthorpe. He finds this practical experience invaluable in policy discussion in Parliament. As being an MEP involves so much travelling from home to Brussels when he has time off he enjoys nothing more than helping out around the farm.

His passion for agriculture started young when he became County Chairman of the Young Farmers. Active in the NFU, Robert held a number of appointments and chairmanships including Chairman of the regional livestock committee and sugarbeet, potatoes and cereals committee and was involved in the WTO Uruguay round negotiations. It was this that led to his growing interest in international trade and the important role that agriculture plays within it.

Robert takes a keen interest in animal welfare and the environment and is a member of the RSPB and Vice-President of the Cambridgeshire Beekeepers Association. Robert is treasurer of the Land Use and Food Policy Intergroup.

By email: rsturdy@tory.org
By Phone: 01954 211790, By Fax: 01954 211786

Geoffrey Van Orden, MEP

Geoffrey was first elected MEP for the East of England in 1999. He is Vice Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament and Conservative Spokesman on Defence and Security Policy. He is also a Member of the Transport Committee and the Parliament’s ‘rapporteur’ on Bulgaria. A former senior British Army officer with wide international and operational experience, particularly in the field of counter-terrorism, his last military appointment was at NATO Headquarters.

"I go to Brussels to speak up for British interests and for the people of East Anglia. I did not become an MEP in order to promote the EU. I want us to govern our own country. At the same time, I want to help local businesses and citizens get the best out of the single market and to assist in the creation of the widest possible area of stability and prosperity across Europe", says Geoffrey. He has consistently opposed European political integration, in particular EU meddling in defence, the EU "Constitution", British adoption of the Euro and unnecessary regulation. He is a member of the Countryside Alliance, Friends of the Union, and the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a founder member of Friends of India, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Liaison Group, and Patron of Fair Trials Abroad. He is married with three daughters.

By email: gvanorden@europarl.eu.int
By Phone: 01245 345141, By Fax: 01245 269757

Vicky Ford, MEP

Vicky is a local councillor based in South Cambridgeshire in the heart of the East of England. Over the past few years she has been an active campaigner in a wide range of issues including road safety, health care and hospital cuts, better policing, protecting the countryside and fairer taxes, as well as supporting community sports, charities and arts.

Prior to becoming involved in politics, Vicky was a managing director of a major international bank. Most of her 14-year career in banking was with JP Morgan. She has been involved in raising money for infrastructure (including roads, railways, telecommunications and electricity networks) across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. She worked with many of Europe's largest companies as well as advising national governments and central banks.

Vicky's early childhood was spent in Northern Ireland where her parents were both hospital doctors. Her grandparents came from Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire and she returned to Cambridge to study Maths and Economics at Trinity College, Cambridge as an undergraduate. There she met her husband, Hugo, who is a cancer consultant at Addenbrooke's West Suffolk and Papworth Hospitals. They have three children.

Vicky is a passionate supporter of British Industry and stood as the Conservative candidate in Birmingham Northfield, the home of MG Rover, which collapsed during the 2005 general election. In 1997, she was a major contributor to the Conservative Party's review of UK taxation "the Tax Reform Commission".

Vicky enjoys fishing and gardening, she sings with a local choir and plays the piano and clarinet and is learning the Saxophone.

By Post:
By email: vford@btinternet.com
By Phone:07771 812976