mrabody

1. I think that the reasoning behind this may involve data protection concerns. If active campaigning were allowed, then presumably any MEP candidate would be entitled to a list of all current members in their region for the purposes of maintaining a level playing field. In the southeast that would mean 14+ lists floating around. Unfortunately, I think the wording of the rules is overbroad and probably inhibits a lot of candidates from campaigning as much as they could.

2. A cynic might say that these rules are designed to stack the deck in favour of only well-known candidates, clearly favouring sitting MEPs or other important people in the party. I'm not convinced of this, but even if it were the case, our MEP selection process is still more fair than that of any of the three establishment parties.