We’re proud of our local links with Europe, said Bath MP Wera Hobhouse, while praising the ‘vital’ work of the European Local Partnerships Working Group at their recent annual conference in our city. Mrs Hobhouse spoke of the crucial role of local communities in fostering links between the UK and EU.
The European Local Partnerships Working Group (ELPWG) was established in 2020 and intends to forge closer ties between the EU and the UK through creating new partnerships, such as ‘twinning’ towns and cities and conducting pupil exchanges.
In the elegant surroundings of the Pump Room in Bath, Mrs Hobhouse spoke on the dangers of a widening post-Brexit disconnect between the UK and EU. She emphasized our longstanding shared values with European countries, and congratulated the ELPWG for working to ensure the UK maintains close and meaningful relationships with cities across Europe.
Dr Carl Wright, Chair of the EPLWG, commented:
“It was heartening to hear the enthusiastic support of the MP for Bath, Wera Hobhouse at our first in-person meeting of the European Local Partnerships Working Group today. MPs working with their local communities and local councils is a key way to maintain vital people-to-people links between the UK and the EU.”
Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat MP for Bath, commented:
“I am very proud that the ELPWG chose Bath for its first in-person annual conference, on the basis of our pro-active partnerships with cities across Europe. I am particularly grateful to local resident and constituent Marian McNeir for organising the event, and for the work she and the other Bath twinning associations do to build links between our city and Aix-en-Provence, Alkmaar and Brauschweig.
“Now more than ever, local communities have a vital role to play in maintaining vital links between the UK and EU. I hope that, thanks to the work of the ELPWG, the history, culture and values of Bath and of Britain will continue to be at the heart of a European future.”
