Roger Helmer
Encyclopedia
Roger Helmer is a British
politician and a Conservative Party
Member of the European Parliament
for the East Midlands
region
. He has described himself as a eurosceptic
and is a supporter of the Better Off Out
campaign. He was first elected to the European Parliament
in 1999 as a Conservative Party MEP, and re-elected in 2004. Helmer currently sits on two European Parliamentary committees (Employment
and Petitions
), and is a member of the delegation to South East Asian countries and a substitute member of the delegation to Korea
.
He was suspended from the Conservative Party whip on 26 May 2005 after voting against party instructions on a motion to censure the European Commission
and openly criticising his delegation leader, Timothy Kirkhope
, in a parliamentary debate; the Conservative party whip was restored on 13 September 2006, but he remained Non-Inscrit
. He joined the European Conservatives and Reformists
(ECR), with the other Conservative MEPs, in July 2009.
On 12 October 2011 Helmer announced that he would resign from the European Parliament at the end of the year, citing "increasing disillusion with the attitudes of the Conservative Party" as the main reason, although admitting that his "twelve-and-a-half years banging my head against the same brick wall in Brussels is perhaps long enough".
in Southampton
(1955–62), and then won a State Scholarship
to Churchill College, Cambridge
, where he read mathematics, graduating in 1965.
He started his business career in 1965 with Procter & Gamble
in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, going on to hold senior marketing and general management appointments in a range of companies, including Readers Digest, National Semiconductor
, Coats Viyella
and the whisky
firm United Distillers
, now part of the drinks conglomerate Diageo
. During the course of his business career he lived and worked in Hong Kong
, Singapore
, Thailand
, Malaysia and Korea
, and ran businesses in the Philippines
, Vietnam
, Guam
and Saipan
.
He was re-elected as a Conservative MEP for the East Midlands Region in 2004.
He was subsequently suspended from the party Whip on 26 May 2005 after voting against party instructions on a motion to censure the European Commission
However, on 13 September 2006, he had the Conservative party whip restored, but remained Non-Inscrit
. He joined the European Conservatives and Reformists
(ECR), with the other Conservative MEPs, in July 2009.
Having initially advocated the Conservative policy of renegotiating the EU treaties, since 2006 he has been a supporter of the Better Off Out
campaign, calling for the UK to leave the EU.
He was appointed Adam Smith Scholar in 2005 by a right wing pressure group in the USA called the American Legislative Exchange Council
.
He became Chairman of the libertarian pressure group, The Freedom Association
, in April 2007.
In November 2009 he stepped down as the Conservative party's spokesman on employment in the European parliament because he thought the Conservatives' new policy on not supporting a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty was "confused" and "essentially cosmetic".
Make Socialism History. A third book "Sceptic at Large" on a wider range of topics was published in 2011 by Bretwalds Books.
MEP, and chairman of the ECR, Michał Kamiński from accusations of homophobia
. He went on to write that homophobia does not exist and that the word: "is merely a propaganda device" designed to "denigrate and stigmatise those holding conventional opinions".
This later caused controversy; on 9 August Ben Summerskill
, the chief executive of Stonewall
, criticised Helmer, saying "If Mr Helmer thinks that homophobia doesn't exist in modern Britain, then perhaps he should be introduced to the families of Michael Causer and Jody Dobrowski
. I suspect that their dignity in the face of the murders of their sons by homophobes might cause Mr Helmer to think again". Former minister Geoff Hoon
stated that this was "yet another sign that David Cameron
has caved in to the views of the extreme elements in his party and removed the Conservatives from Europe's mainstream" and invited the Conservative Party leader to say whether or not he agreed with Helmer's comments.
On 11 August 2009, Helmer defended himself, saying he was not claiming "that there is no discrimination, and that homosexuals do not suffer violence and prejudice from people because sadly, we all know that is not the case." but rather, he states, that the word homophobia has "no meaning" because he has "never met anyone with an irrational fear of homosexuals" and claims that the term is a propagandist one created by the "militant gay rights lobby".
On 16 January 2011, he tweeted 'Why is it OK for a surgeon to perform a sex-change operation, but not OK for a psychiatrist to try to "turn" a consenting homosexual?'
of having "abandoned religious faith entirely and taken up the religion of climate alarmism instead". This was in response to a recent inter-faith event in Leicester concerning the challenge of climate change. In response, the Bishop of Leicester
, Tim Stevens
, said Helmer had not aired these views when he debated climate change in Leicester cathedral and asked whether "this was merely courtesy, or was it because the opportunity for a platform meant more to him than exposing his views to scrutiny or challenge from a live audience".
On 19 September 2010, on his blog, Helmer stated of the Catholic Church that: "it would be perfectly fair to describe it as systemically paedophile."
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, the religious affairs correspondent Damian Thompson stated that: “I’d vaguely heard of Helmer as a leading Eurosceptic. Clearly he’s also a bigot. His Catholic constituents are deeply offended by his vile comments, and rightly so.
Local outrage within the Catholic community was confirmed by an article in the Nottingham Post on 21 September 2010.
as one of the worst voting MEPs on environmental issues, voting in what they claimed was an environmentally friendly
manner in only one out of ten possible "eco-friendly" votes.
On 15 September 2009, Helmer was criticised in The Daily Mirror
for “backing the brutal culling of baby seals.” In an email to a 17-year-old animal rights campaigner, Helmer stated that beating "dumb" cubs over the head was "humane" and that they deserved to die because they were "guilty" of eating too many fish. Helmer went on to write: "Your sympathy for dumb animals does you credit but save your concerns for people rather than them."
In December 2010, Helmer courted controversy by attending the Cancun Climate Change Conference and by spending public funds on a billboard campaign in his local area attacking government spending on the issue of climate change. Leo Hickman, writing in the Guardian newspaper, questioned who was funding his attendance at the conference after it was confirmed that he was not there in an official capacity representing the EU or the Conservative Party – who both confirmed that they did not share Helmer's beliefs on the subject of climate change.
Within his local region, Helmer was attacked by academics from the University of Derby
and the University of Northampton
for being “out of step with the overwhelming scientific evidence on the subject of human induced climate change”.
In response, Helmer attacked Dr Pope's understanding of science and stated that: “The Information Fund is there to allow all MEPs to communicate their campaigns and inform constituents about their work.”
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
politician and a Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
for the East Midlands
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of the regions of England, consisting of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire...
region
Regions of England
In England, the region is the highest tier of sub-national division used by central Government. Between 1994 and 2011, the nine regions had an administrative role in the implementation of UK Government policy, and as the areas covered by elected bodies...
. He has described himself as a eurosceptic
Euroscepticism
Euroscepticism is a general term used to describe criticism of the European Union , and opposition to the process of European integration, existing throughout the political spectrum. Traditionally, the main source of euroscepticism has been the notion that integration weakens the nation state...
and is a supporter of the Better Off Out
Better Off Out
Better Off Out is the name of a non-party campaign run by The Freedom Association to call for the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union...
campaign. He was first elected to the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
in 1999 as a Conservative Party MEP, and re-elected in 2004. Helmer currently sits on two European Parliamentary committees (Employment
Committee on Employment and Social Affairs
The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs is a committee of the European Parliament.- Chairman :2009 - : -External links:*...
and Petitions
Committee on Petitions
The Committee on Petitions is a committee of the European Parliament.Petitions can also be brought forward by any EU citizen on a matter within the EU's sphere of activities. The Committee hears cases, some 1500 each year, sometimes presented by the citizen themselves at the Parliament...
), and is a member of the delegation to South East Asian countries and a substitute member of the delegation to Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
.
He was suspended from the Conservative Party whip on 26 May 2005 after voting against party instructions on a motion to censure the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
and openly criticising his delegation leader, Timothy Kirkhope
Timothy Kirkhope
Timothy John Robert Kirkhope is a British lawyer and politician, currently serving as Member of the European Parliament for Yorkshire and the Humber for the Conservative Party. After serving for ten years as Member of Parliament for Leeds North East, he was first elected to the European Parliament...
, in a parliamentary debate; the Conservative party whip was restored on 13 September 2006, but he remained Non-Inscrit
Non-Inscrits
Non-Inscrits are Members of the European Parliament who do not sit in one of the recognized political groups....
. He joined the European Conservatives and Reformists
European Conservatives and Reformists
The European Conservatives and Reformists, abbreviated to ECR, is a conservative anti-federalist political group in the European Parliament. The group currently comprises 57 MEPs, making it the fourth-largest group in the European Parliament....
(ECR), with the other Conservative MEPs, in July 2009.
On 12 October 2011 Helmer announced that he would resign from the European Parliament at the end of the year, citing "increasing disillusion with the attitudes of the Conservative Party" as the main reason, although admitting that his "twelve-and-a-half years banging my head against the same brick wall in Brussels is perhaps long enough".
Biography
Born in 1944, Helmer attended King Edward VI Grammar SchoolKing Edward VI School, Southampton
King Edward VI School, often referred to as King Edward's, or simply KES, is a selective co-educational independent day School located in Southampton, United Kingdom and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. It was founded in 1553, after the death of William Capon , who...
in Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
(1955–62), and then won a State Scholarship
State Scholarship (UK)
A State Scholarship was a financial scholarship award for university entrants based on Scholarship Level exam results. Although the award was based on exam performance, the amount received was means-tested.-History:...
to Churchill College, Cambridge
Churchill College, Cambridge
Churchill College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.In 1958, a Trust was established with Sir Winston Churchill as its Chairman of Trustees, to build and endow a college for 60 fellows and 540 Students as a national and Commonwealth memorial to Winston Churchill; its...
, where he read mathematics, graduating in 1965.
He started his business career in 1965 with Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, going on to hold senior marketing and general management appointments in a range of companies, including Readers Digest, National Semiconductor
National Semiconductor
National Semiconductor was an American semiconductor manufacturer, that specialized in analog devices and subsystems,formerly headquartered in Santa Clara, California, USA. The products of National Semiconductor included power management circuits, display drivers, audio and operational amplifiers,...
, Coats Viyella
Viyella
Viyella was a blend of wool and cotton first woven in 1893 in England, and soon to be the "first branded fabric in the world". It was made of 55 percent merino wool and 45 percent cotton in a twill weave, developed by James and Robert Sissons of William Hollins & Company, spinners and hosiers...
and the whisky
Whisky
Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and corn...
firm United Distillers
United Distillers
United Distillers was a Scottish company formed in 1987 from combining the businesses of Distillers Company and Arthur Bell & Sons, both owned by Guinness. The company owned six Scotch whisky brands, which were relaunched as the Classic Malts range...
, now part of the drinks conglomerate Diageo
Diageo
Diageo plc is a global alcoholic beverages company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest producer of spirits and a major producer of beer and wine....
. During the course of his business career he lived and worked in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Malaysia and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, and ran businesses in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
and Saipan
Saipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
.
Political career
In September 1998, following his selection as a candidate for the Conservative Party in the East Midlands, Roger left his job as Managing Director of a Leicester textile company, Donisthorpe Ltd (the UK subsidiary of a French textile multinational), to campaign full time ahead of the 1999 euro-elections, and took up his new role as an MEP immediately afterwards.He was re-elected as a Conservative MEP for the East Midlands Region in 2004.
He was subsequently suspended from the party Whip on 26 May 2005 after voting against party instructions on a motion to censure the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
However, on 13 September 2006, he had the Conservative party whip restored, but remained Non-Inscrit
Non-Inscrits
Non-Inscrits are Members of the European Parliament who do not sit in one of the recognized political groups....
. He joined the European Conservatives and Reformists
European Conservatives and Reformists
The European Conservatives and Reformists, abbreviated to ECR, is a conservative anti-federalist political group in the European Parliament. The group currently comprises 57 MEPs, making it the fourth-largest group in the European Parliament....
(ECR), with the other Conservative MEPs, in July 2009.
Having initially advocated the Conservative policy of renegotiating the EU treaties, since 2006 he has been a supporter of the Better Off Out
Better Off Out
Better Off Out is the name of a non-party campaign run by The Freedom Association to call for the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union...
campaign, calling for the UK to leave the EU.
He was appointed Adam Smith Scholar in 2005 by a right wing pressure group in the USA called the American Legislative Exchange Council
American Legislative Exchange Council
The American Legislative Exchange Council is a politically conservative 501 non-profit Policy Organization, consisting of both state legislators and members of the private sector. ALEC's mission statement describes the organization's purpose as the advancement of free-market principles, limited...
.
He became Chairman of the libertarian pressure group, The Freedom Association
The Freedom Association
The Freedom Association is a pressure group in the United Kingdom that describes itself as non-partisan, centre-right and libertarian, which has links to the Conservative Party. TFA was founded in 1975 as the National Association for Freedom and gained public prominence through its anti-trade...
, in April 2007.
In November 2009 he stepped down as the Conservative party's spokesman on employment in the European parliament because he thought the Conservatives' new policy on not supporting a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty was "confused" and "essentially cosmetic".
Publications
Helmer has published three books. The first two were on European issues, "Straight Talking on Europe" in 2000, and "A Declaration of Independence" in 2002. In April 2006 he contributed an article on "Austria and the EU Constitution" to the blogBlog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
Make Socialism History. A third book "Sceptic at Large" on a wider range of topics was published in 2011 by Bretwalds Books.
Rape
On May 2011, in his blog, Helmer said that there should be two categories of rape, "stranger rape" and "date rape" and that a woman who is date raped "surely shares a part of the responsibility". His comments caused uproar, with demands for Helmer to resign or to have the Conservative whip withdrawn again.Homosexuality
On 19 July 2009, on his blog, Helmer defended the Polish Law and JusticeLaw and Justice
Law and Justice , abbreviated to PiS, is a right-wing, conservative political party in Poland. With 147 seats in the Sejm and 38 in the Senate, it is the second-largest party in the Polish parliament....
MEP, and chairman of the ECR, Michał Kamiński from accusations of homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
. He went on to write that homophobia does not exist and that the word: "is merely a propaganda device" designed to "denigrate and stigmatise those holding conventional opinions".
This later caused controversy; on 9 August Ben Summerskill
Ben Summerskill
Ben Jeffrey Peter Summerskill OBE is a British businessman and journalist, who is the Chief Executive of the UK-based Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual equality organisation Stonewall, now the largest gay equality body in Europe...
, the chief executive of Stonewall
Stonewall (UK)
Stonewall is a lesbian, gay and bisexual rights charity in the United Kingdom named after the Stonewall Inn of Stonewall riots fame. Now the largest gay equality organization not only in the UK but in Europe, it was formed in 1989 by political activists and others lobbying against section 28 of the...
, criticised Helmer, saying "If Mr Helmer thinks that homophobia doesn't exist in modern Britain, then perhaps he should be introduced to the families of Michael Causer and Jody Dobrowski
Jody Dobrowski
Jody Dobrowski was a 24-year-old assistant bar manager who was murdered on Clapham Common in south London. On 14 October, at around midnight, he was beaten to death with punches and kicks by two men who believed him to be gay. Tests carried out at St...
. I suspect that their dignity in the face of the murders of their sons by homophobes might cause Mr Helmer to think again". Former minister Geoff Hoon
Geoff Hoon
Geoffrey "Geoff" William Hoon is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament for Ashfield from 1992 to 2010...
stated that this was "yet another sign that David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
has caved in to the views of the extreme elements in his party and removed the Conservatives from Europe's mainstream" and invited the Conservative Party leader to say whether or not he agreed with Helmer's comments.
On 11 August 2009, Helmer defended himself, saying he was not claiming "that there is no discrimination, and that homosexuals do not suffer violence and prejudice from people because sadly, we all know that is not the case." but rather, he states, that the word homophobia has "no meaning" because he has "never met anyone with an irrational fear of homosexuals" and claims that the term is a propagandist one created by the "militant gay rights lobby".
On 16 January 2011, he tweeted 'Why is it OK for a surgeon to perform a sex-change operation, but not OK for a psychiatrist to try to "turn" a consenting homosexual?'
Christianity
In a letter to the Leicester Mercury on 16 November 2009, Helmer courted controversy by accusing the Church of EnglandChurch of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
of having "abandoned religious faith entirely and taken up the religion of climate alarmism instead". This was in response to a recent inter-faith event in Leicester concerning the challenge of climate change. In response, the Bishop of Leicester
Bishop of Leicester
The Bishop of Leicester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Leicester in the Province of Canterbury.The first bishops of Leicester were originally prelates who administered an Anglo-Saxon diocese between the 7th and 9th centuries...
, Tim Stevens
Tim Stevens
Timothy John "Tim" Stevens is a British Anglican bishop. He is the current Bishop of Leicester.Born in Ilford, Essex, the son of Ralph Stevens and Ursula Plowman, he was educated in Chigwell School and Selwyn College, Cambridge, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in classics in 1968 and a...
, said Helmer had not aired these views when he debated climate change in Leicester cathedral and asked whether "this was merely courtesy, or was it because the opportunity for a platform meant more to him than exposing his views to scrutiny or challenge from a live audience".
On 19 September 2010, on his blog, Helmer stated of the Catholic Church that: "it would be perfectly fair to describe it as systemically paedophile."
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, the religious affairs correspondent Damian Thompson stated that: “I’d vaguely heard of Helmer as a leading Eurosceptic. Clearly he’s also a bigot. His Catholic constituents are deeply offended by his vile comments, and rightly so.
Local outrage within the Catholic community was confirmed by an article in the Nottingham Post on 21 September 2010.
Speeding
In November 2005, Roger Helmer admitted that he regularly breaks speed limits on motorway runs. He argued that “No matter how fast you are going, you get people passing you” and confirmed that he has recently been caught speeding with his Jaguar, driving at 38 mph in a 30 mph zone. In response, Mary Williams OBE, Chief Executive of Brake, the national road safety charity, said: "For an MEP to regularly speed on motorways is irresponsible and sets a bad example to the people he represents. Speeding is illegal and speeding drivers put lives at risk through their selfish, dangerous actions.”Expenses
Helmer was criticised in an article in the Daily Telegraph on the 10 February 2010 regarding MEPs’ pensions. The article by Bruno Waterfield criticised an attempt by Roger Helmer and other Conservative MEPs to water down attempts to overhaul their expenses arrangements. Helmer replied, in a letter to the Daily Telegraph printed on the 13 February 2010, that accusations relating to protecting his pension rights, protecting his anonymity and seeking further public funding for pension contributions were false.The NHS
In August 2009, Helmer courted controversy when he supported his fellow MEP Danial Hannan's criticism of the NHS. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's PM programme, Helmer stated that: “I think Dan has done us a service by raising these issues which need to be looked at. If 80% of Americans are getting better health care than we are in the UK then we ought to ask why, and we ought to ask how are we going to deliver equally good results.” The attacks by Helmer and Hannan led Conservative leader David Cameron to release a statement to the BBC saying: "The Conservative Party stands four square behind the NHS,"The environment
In April 2004, Helmer was named by Friends of the EarthFriends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth International is an international network of environmental organizations in 76 countries.FOEI is assisted by a small secretariat which provides support for the network and its agreed major campaigns...
as one of the worst voting MEPs on environmental issues, voting in what they claimed was an environmentally friendly
Environmentally friendly
Environmentally friendly are terms used to refer to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies claimed to inflict minimal or no harm on the environment....
manner in only one out of ten possible "eco-friendly" votes.
On 15 September 2009, Helmer was criticised in The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror is a British national daily tabloid newspaper which was founded in 1903. Twice in its history, from 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was changed to read simply The Mirror, which is how the paper is often referred to in popular parlance. It had an...
for “backing the brutal culling of baby seals.” In an email to a 17-year-old animal rights campaigner, Helmer stated that beating "dumb" cubs over the head was "humane" and that they deserved to die because they were "guilty" of eating too many fish. Helmer went on to write: "Your sympathy for dumb animals does you credit but save your concerns for people rather than them."
In December 2010, Helmer courted controversy by attending the Cancun Climate Change Conference and by spending public funds on a billboard campaign in his local area attacking government spending on the issue of climate change. Leo Hickman, writing in the Guardian newspaper, questioned who was funding his attendance at the conference after it was confirmed that he was not there in an official capacity representing the EU or the Conservative Party – who both confirmed that they did not share Helmer's beliefs on the subject of climate change.
Within his local region, Helmer was attacked by academics from the University of Derby
University of Derby
The University of Derby is a university in the city of Derby, England. The main site is on Kedleston Road, Allestree in the north-west of Derby close to the A38 opposite Markeaton Park...
and the University of Northampton
University of Northampton
The University of Northampton is a university in Northampton, Northamptonshire, England.-History:In 1924, Northampton Technical College was opened at St George's Avenue, site of the current Avenue Campus. A new building for the college was formally opened by the then Duke and Duchess of York in 1932...
for being “out of step with the overwhelming scientific evidence on the subject of human induced climate change”.
In response, Helmer attacked Dr Pope's understanding of science and stated that: “The Information Fund is there to allow all MEPs to communicate their campaigns and inform constituents about their work.”