Leading from the front

Chris Davies: Euro-MP and general powerhouse

Martyn meets...dynamic Euro MP Chris Davies
WHEN I rocked up at the picture postcard three-storey cottage overlooking the verdant valleys of Greenfield, I didn’t expect to be spending the morning in the company of the British over-50s ultra-fell-running champion.

But one of the many and varied talents of Euro-MP Chris Davies is an ability to run humungously long distances, up hills and down dales... and win.

Then again, this guy is a serial winner — if you overlook the 1997 General Election defeat, when he lost the Oldham East and Saddleworth seat to Phil Woolas.

The Lib-Dems were caught up in the national desire to be rid of John Major’s Conservatives and though the number of Lib-Dems MPs actually rose in 1997, Chris was ultimately a victim of boundary changes.

That defeat hurt, emotionally, but was tempered by the fact that the 57-year-old — possibly a mellow man now but still with a furious, barely-concealed ambition smouldering below the surface of his lean and lithe exterior — had reached one of his lifetime goals.

He had sat as an elected member in the House of Commons at Westminster, the mother of all Parliaments, and helped shape the destiny of Great Britain.

Twenty-four months is hardly the culmination of a life’s work but this is not a resentful man who represents Oldham, and half of the North-West too actually, in Brussels and Strasbourg. This is a passionate, driven individual who believes in the European project with an intensity that brooks no argument.

Woe betide if you try to engage Chris Davies in a debate about the merits of European Parliament, much derided by the popular right-wing press, then be sure of your facts . . . or you will surely lose the argument.

For 15 years he has been representing great swathes of this country in the twin seats of European power and is fully immersed in the seemingly unfathomable ways and wiles of the great European project.

He argues with a convincing authority which borders on zeal that Europe in the collective sense is doing great things for the greater community.

Critics and opponents will argue that Chris rides the gravy train of salary and expenses but while he doesn’t deny there are excesses within the system, a cursory glance at his diary suggests his working week justifies the rewards.

Chris will leave Higher Kinders in Greenfield on a Monday and fly to his office in Brussels for a day of briefings with his full-time staff, often fitting in meetings with lobbyists and other experts who wish to seek his opinion or influence his thinking.

“I also write on a whole variety of subjects for newspapers, magazines and websites — you name it, I’m asked for stories.”

Oh, and Chris never takes a lunch break . . . ever.

“There just isn’t time,” he said.

His 12-hour day ends with an elevator ride to the gym in the basement of his office building where he works on his stamina and fitness ready for his next fell-running challenge in the Pennine foothills.

Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are invariably spent attending committee sessions devoted to his core specialisms — the environment, in particular climate change, and sustainable fisheries — “although it is impossible to spend all of my time at these sessions,” he said. Instead, he sends along one of his two full-time, Brussels-based assistants, one of whom will monitor the debates and advise his boss when Chris is needed to either contribute to a debate or introduce a particular point.

“It is endlessly intellectually-fascinating work,” he said. “There is no time for small talk, none at all.”

He recognises the implausibility of some of the lobbyists with whom he has to deal — many of whom he wants to see as they can offer expert opinions on subjects close to his portfolios — and the interests of his constituents in Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Lancashire, Merseyside and Cumbria.

Enterprise
“I used to see one guy, a German, on a pretty regular basis.

“He was lobbying on behalf of the German car industry in general and one manufacturer in particular.

“I have to say I am not particularly fond of the German car industry as they make huge gas-guzzling vehicles although they are getting much better at designing more environmentally-friendly cars.

“Then this guy switches sides and now he is lobbying for the opposite view! It’s what happens I suppose. It’s politics.”

On Thursday evenings he returns to the UK and spends most Fridays in his office in Stockport with his three other full-time staff following up constituency matters.

This programme is repeated for three weeks and the fourth is spent in Strasbourg, where the European Parliament meets, all 750 Euro-MPs from the 26 member countries.

“It’s obviously a huge enterprise, a massive undertaking. But unlike Westminster, the European Parliament is invariably busy. Every Euro-MP has a seat, unlike the Commons where there are only 400-plus seats and 650-plus MPs.”

This monthly-cycle is repeated ad infinitum as the wheels of European democracy grind ever onward.

Chris is the only Liberal Democrat among the region’s eight Euro-MPs and has been his party’s environment spokesman in Brussels throughout this time.

He is also team leader/co-ordinator on the Environment Committee for the 84-strong European Liberal Democrat Group of Euro-MPs.

He has concentrated particularly on climate change issues and is recognised as having particular knowledge of carbon capture and storage technology.

In 2008 Chris played a key role in introducing the principle funding mechanism used to support development of CCS demonstration projects and has also been closely involved in shaping legislation dealing with emissions from vehicles, chemicals, waste and the pollution of air and water. He has a tremendous grasp of his subject and when you analyse the implications for the planet here is a man, right here in Oldham, who knows what harm humankind is doing to its own future.

He also campaigns for policies to promote sustainable fisheries and to protect biodiversity, insisting that Euro-MPs should be transparent in all matters relating to finance and expenses.

This is not a man of frippery but a serious politician. And he is candid, too.

“We get 304 euros a day living allowance in addition to our salaries before anyone asks,” he states with an honesty that punctuated our two hours in the top floor of the home he shares with wife Carol — a teacher at Hulme Grammar — and daughter Charlotte, who is currently at Bristol University.

Greenfield has been the Davies family residence since 1986 when Chris fell in love with Saddleworth.

Eight months earlier he had won the Liberal-Democrat nomination to fight incumbent Conservative MP Geoffrey Dickens and was determined to live in the constituency.

At that point the seat was listed as “the 73rd most winnable” in the eyes of his party activists so it was far from a shoe-in and a difficult ticket.

“But I was used to winning. I had stood for the council in Liverpool and helped the party win the most secure Labour ward in the country, part of which used to be held by legendary Labour politician Bessie Braddock, so I came with a track record.”

History shows that he went on to win the seat, which is today listed as “the 13th most winnable” by party grandees.

Talking of winning, how did he become the British ultra fell-running champion for over-50s?

It’s all part of a fascinating backdrop to an endlessly fascinating man . . . which I will explore in next week’s concluding chapter on the life and times of dedicated Euro-MP.



::A man who’s never out of the running — Part two next Tuesday.