• THE European elections will decide far more than the representatives who will take their seats in the European Parliament.

This election is a battle of hearts and minds. With nationalism and division rampant, our London Labour MEP candidates will provide a powerful antidote.

Tommy Robinson and Nigel Farage claim to speak for the people, but all they offer is a toxic concoction of bigotry and isolationism which will make us all less safe and poorer.

Over the past few months my office has been inundated with concern about the climate crisis and about the cruelty of Universal Credit.

However, no topic has been more widely discussed in Hampstead and Kilburn than the government’s calamitous handling of Brexit.

Thousands of residents have called for a second referendum, sharing my view that Brexit will be a disaster for our economy and will curtail the freedoms we currently enjoy as a member state.

Labour candidates are standing on a platform that promises to fight for the UK to be a leader for progressive action in Europe, showing the way for the rest of the world.

They are pledging wide-ranging action on green issues, including a network of clean air zones. It commits us to maintaining EU levels of animal welfare and food standards.

The European elections are taking place a matter of weeks after parliamentary debates in which Labour MPs voted overwhelmingly to support a second referendum in the indicative votes process.

They are taking place at a time when my Camden colleague Sir Keir Starmer has stated that a second referendum is a condition of any talks with the government. This is what I will continue to fight for.

We will need all the vocal and pro-European voices we can get, and London Labour MEPs have proven to be the loudest and most positive voice in Europe.

As someone who voted against triggering Article 50 and who is passionately in favour of a second referendum, I wouldn’t consider giving my vote to any party but the Labour Party. I hope that voters across London will join me.

TULIP SIDDIQ MP
Labour, Hampstead & Kilburn