I’ve got the best job in British politics: being an MEP

As a single MEP you have an enormous amount of potential influence that a backbench MP in Westminster could only dream of. Whereas many criticise the European parliament for not being able to initiate legislation, the reality is that the parliament has a huge amount of scope to change and shape proposals that come from the commission. There is no government and no opposition. So you are not immediately locked out from the action if “your side” is not in power. The result is that in five short years, you can directly influence the course of hundreds of bits of legislation that shape lives in the UK and across the whole of Europe.