City of Plymouth wishes Good Luck to Tom Daley

As the London 2012 Olympics commence today I would like to send very special good wishes to 18 year old Olympian Diver Tom Daley who is from my home City of Plymouth, Devon, England.  Many of you will probably remember him as a 14 year old diver at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. More recently Tom had hearts in mouths when he dived at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, where he won two gold medals.

In 2007, 2009 and 2010, he was named BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year.

He is one of Britain's gleaming hopes for gold at the London 2012 Olympics.  I recently bought his first official memoir and it is a heartbreaking and inspiring story of a young athlete coping with the death of his father in May 2011 whilst under the glare of the world's media spotlight.  His father Rob Daley was his dedicated and inspirational motivator.  I know that Tom will perform to his absolute maximum in the diving competition in order to honour his late father.

I am certain that I speak for all the citizens of the City of Plymouth, and indeed the whole of the country, when I wish Tom every success in these Olympic Games. I feel certain that all his hard work and dedicated training schedules will be richly rewarded despite the fierce competition from all over the world. Good luck Tom and be assured that all the citizens of Plymouth are fully behind you in this epic challenge.

I am an Altar Server at the Parish Church of Plympton St. Mary and had the honour and privilege of carrying the Cross at the Funeral Service of Thanksgiving for the life of Tom's father, Rob Daley, on the 8th June last year. I was inspired by Tom's composure and eloquent eulogy. He was only 17 at the time.

                                      Robert James David Daley

                                      16th June 1970 -27th May 2011

Tom's first memoir is titled TOM DALEY My Story. It is a brilliant read and will inspire any young person who reads it that, with confidence and determination, the world can be their oyster. It is priced £16.99 and is available from all good book shops and online via http://www.penguin.com/ and http://www.amazon.com/, etc. 

The ISBN number is 978-0-718-15807-1

A Referendum on Britain's Relationship with the European Union

Conservative Member of the European Parliament representing the South West of England, the Isles of Scilly & Gibraltar

I have received the following Newsletter from my European Member of Parliament, Mr. Ashley Fox.

As I was one of those who voted in 1973 for Great Britain to join what was then called the European Economic Community, in order for us to advance our trade and friendship with them;  never for one moment dreaming that it would eventually lead to a perceived Federal States of Europe or even a Eurozone Single Currency, I now therefore wholeheartedly agree with his sentiments expressed in the article below.

The Prime Minister is right to talk about holding a referendum on Britain's relationship with the European Union. He is also right that this shouldn't take place until after the next General Election.

As I travel around the South West I hear how few people are happy with Britain's current relationship with the EU. Europe costs too much and interferes too much in our daily lives. Whilst we value the single market that enables us to trade freely with our European partners, we worry that Europe is developing into a Political Union that we haven't voted to join.

I appreciate that many people want to leave the EU and want an in/out referendum now. The problem is that this precludes the possibility of improving our current position. A Yes vote means we affirm our current terms of membership (something I don't wish to do) and would prevent any form of repatriation of powers back to Britain. That is why I believe we need to take our time to get this right.

I want to see a Conservative majority Government elected in 2015 on a mandate to repatriate powers from Brussels to Britain. This would be to repeat the manifesto promise we made at the last General Election, which would give the new Government the opportunity to renegotiate our relationship with the EU and then to put the end result to a vote. The question should be whether the British people want to remain within the EU on the new terms, which I hope would resemble the Common Market we joined in 1973, or would they prefer to leave?

We need to be absolutely sure that we are asking the right question at the right time.

“Only a resolute defence of Britain's interests will persuade the British people that it is worth staying in Europe”

Article courtesy of Ashley Fox, MEP.