Case Studies in the Making of the European Parliament and Parliamentarians: A Conversation with Rory Palmer
Rory Palmer is a British politician who aligns himself with the British Labor Party. He was a member of the European Parliament representing the East Midlands from 2017 until 2020 when the United Kingdom officially withdrew from the European Union. Mr. Palmer was born in 1981 in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England and attended the University of York where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Social Policy. His political career began in 2007 when he became Leicester city councilor for Eyres Monsell. He also served as deputy to the mayor of Leicester, Peter Soulsby.
During the 2014 European Parliament elections, he was second on the ballot for the East Midlands constituency but ended up not getting elected. Glenis Willmott was elected but stepped down in 2017 resulting in Palmer becoming her successor. During his time as an MEP, he was a member of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats.
Mr. Rory Palmer joined us for the April 14, 2021 event, speaking as a member of the European Parliament Former Members Association. Mr. Palmer joined the European Parliament midterm in 2017 which presented several challenges. Nevertheless, as Mr. Palmer emphasized, while his term was a short one, it was an effective, busy, and eventful one.
Mr. Palmer shared with us that European Parliament members are active across a variety of networks and arenas. More specifically, while MEPs are active in the Parliament itself, the majority of the work occurs across legislative committees and inter-parliamentary delegations. In addition, MEPs are able to join inter-groups that are aligned with specific causes / issues and campaigns. Mr. Palmer was active in a number of inter-groups related to equality, social rights, trade union, and labor rights. In fact, Mr. Palmer formed a new cross-party campaign group that aimed to secure stronger employment protections for people with terminal illnesses. Mr. Palmer explained that this Dying to Work campaign was one that he had taken from his own constituency and brought it to the attention of European officials in Brussels.
One of the most significant insights that Mr. Palmer brought to light was how multidimensional the role of an MEP really is. From working at a local level to working at a national level and then to working at an international level, the political agendas of MEPs are driven by not only their own constituencies but also by their countries as a whole and the European Union itself. On top of all of these networks, MEPs are not only active in their own national political parties and political groups within the Parliament, but also must work with external networks including but not limited to universities, schools and colleges, businesses, and trade unions.
This insight also led to another interesting perspective that Mr. Palmer shared related to how he would break down the role of an MEP into three to four broad domains. The first role is of course that of being an elected representative and advocate for the constituency that you represent in your home country. The second role is that of being a legislator and working in a legislative body, which in this case would be the European Parliament. The third role is that of being a campaigner and leader for the causes and issues that you care about but also wish to pursue in the interests of your constituency. And the fourth role is that of a diplomat through the work that occurs within the interparliamentary delegations. These different responsibilities prove to show that the “everyday life” of an MEP does not exist as every day is different with the tasks that are presented at hand.
Furthermore, Mr. Palmer’s plan of action to how he approached his compressed term in the European Parliament was quite commendable. While he knew his time of him as an MEP would not be long, he still wanted to make an impact, be an effective representative, and advance the causes that he deeply cared about. Mr. Palmer's service in the European Parliament, although brief, was efficient and productive. Unfortunately, Brexit led to the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union, which resulted in an end to Mr. Palmer's appointment.
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